The Shadow Fox Chronicles
by Kointoss
Summary: Post timeskip. Three years are up, but where is Naruto? Team 8 heads off in search of him, and Hinata meets a kind old stranger who seems to know Naruto. Who is this man? Read to find out. Eventual NaruHina RxR PLEASE! WARNING: BLOODGORELANGUAGE.
1. A Hero Emerges

**Book 1**

**The Shadow Fox **

**Chapter 1:**

**A Hero Emerges**

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_Dammit, where is that brat!_ Tsunade thought as she sat in her chair looking out of her window at the gate beyond, "SAKURA!"

A certain pink-haired Kunoichi opened the door to Tsunade's office. "Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Can you go down to the main gate and retrieve the log for me? Naruto should have returned by now…" her voice trailed off as she turned around to face the window once again.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Replied Sakura as she turned and walked out of the door.

_Where are you …?_ the Hokage pondered.

-----

Sakura walked down the street towards the main gate thinking of what three years might have done to Naruto. _I wonder if he's still the same old fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants Naruto._ "HEY, Hinata-chan!" she exclaimed as she caught sight of the girl that she had rapidly become friends with since Naruto had left.

"Konichiwa, Sakura-chan." Hinata bowed. She had definitely filled out in three years since Naruto had gone. She had thrown herself headlong into a training regimen that rivaled Naruto in his younger days. She would often spend nights and a few days in the hospital recovering from chakra exhaustion and colds from passing out and sleeping through the cold nights out in the open. Not only had she grown stronger physically, but she had also grown much prettier. Forgoing her short haircut, she let her hair grow out down to her shoulder blades and had also swapped out her thick beige hoodie for a tighter, lavender one. "How have you been Sakura-chan?"

"Well you know, Tsunade-sama has been getting piled up with paperwork and I still have to go in and wake her up. It's a good thing that I'm a medic-nin, otherwise my jaw would be wired so shut, I would have to be fed intravenously" Replied the other. "So are you shopping for some new clothes today?"

"Hai. I decided that I needed some nicer clothes instead of just my Hyuuga Kimono and my training outfit" answered Hinata.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure it isn't for a certain ninja who supposed to be returning today?" Her smirk widened as she saw Hinata's eyes grow wide, and she turned a shade of red. "C'mon Hinata, I have to say we were quite disappointed when you didn't even kiss him goodbye."

Hinata turned a little bit redder at the thought of giving him one last goodbye hug, looking into those cerulean orbs of his that she could get lost in, leaning in ever closer until her daydream was shattered by a "Hinata?"

"G-Gomen, Sakura-chan."

"It's OK. Still, with Sasuke gone, I might as well make a pass at Naruto when he comes back;" she said playfully enjoying the look of horror that came across Hinata's face, "you know I'm joking. Besides I guess if I ever need a boyfriend with as much energy as Naruto, I could just start dating Lee."

Hinata giggled at the thought of Lee shedding all of his affection towards Sakura.

They arrived at the gatehouse and the Chuunin guarding it, "Ohayo!" Sakura waved

"Ohayo! How can I be of assistance?" greeted the Chuunin.

"Tsunade-sama wants the ledger for the week. She wants to know if Naruto has come back yet."

The Chuunin cast his eyes away from Sakura to Hinata and the then back to the counter where the ledger sat. "I'm afraid he hasn't come back yet," he saw the sad look in Hinata's eyes "but I'm sure that he'll be arriving anytime soon. You know Naruto; he will probably make some kind of grand entrance." Hinata's face brightened a little bit as she thought of what Naruto would do upon returning to the town.

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"Shizune!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked as she poked her head in.

"Naruto hasn't returned yet. I'm starting to get worried. It's been two weeks since he and Jiraya were supposed to return…" she paused_. All that is available is Team 8. Without a doubt Hinata would be glad to go on this mission Akamaru would be helpful, though Kiba might not be too happy taking into account his advances in the Hyuuga. Shino will do it because he's Shino._

"Bring in Team 8."

"Hai!"

---------

With team 8 assembled behind Tsunade's desk, she started, "As I'm sure as some of you know," she glanced at Hinata, who in turn, turned a little redder than normal, "Naruto hasn't came back yet; something in which I am not pleased with. Since he hasn't returned yet, and neither has Jiraya, I'm sending you out to track him down." She was answered with a unanimous 'Hai' and continued, "Alright then if you don't have any questions, you are dismissed."

The four shinobi turned to leave. "Oh Kurenai…"

"Yes Hokage-sama?"

"…would you stay for a minute?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Kurenai stuck her head out of the door and called to her departing team, "pack your things. I have a feeling were going to be out for a long time. Meet me by the front gates in one hour!"

"What is it Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade pulled a scroll from her desk. "Smear blood on this and use her as a messenger bird. I want at least one message a week. Don't worry about her finding you, she'll do that on her own." Tsunade handed Kurenai the scroll, "one more thing. Bring him AND Jiraya back safely. I want to personally beat Jiraya for being this late and for making me worry."

"Yes Tsunade."

Kurenai left and Tsunade reached under her chair to the bottle of sake strapped to it. _I'm getting too old for this._

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An hour later Team 8 had assembled at the gate.

"Alright," Kurenai started, "were going to make first for the border town #3 to the northwest. That's where Naruto found Tsunade. And it's where a lot of people come together seeing as how it is one gigantic party." She ended with a look of mild distaste. "Alright then let's move out."

---

_Naruto I'm coming for you. I hope you're not hurt, but if you are then I will come to help you. I'll give my life for you if it is necessary, because I love you. I WILL tell you when I find you. I'm not called a Hyuuga for nothing._

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As Team 8 reached the gate Kurenai spoke to her charges

"OK. We'll split up. In the town, if you see anything suspicious or hear anything, call on your radio. We don't want to fight anyone. And," she looked at Kiba "we're here to find someone, not to engage in the festivities."

Hinata giggled hearing Kiba mumble something about 'old ladies' and stalking off with Akamaru.

"I'll go check out the hotels on the western side of town." Shino said as he plucked three maps off of a rack of a kiosk owner and paid the man.

"Hinata you go talk to the daimyo and ask him if they've had any incidents or sightings of those two, I'll check on the Hotels from the eastern side." She took a map from Shino, and handed the other to Hinata.

"Yes Kurenai-sama." Hinata walked off.

"Good luck Shino."

"The same to you."

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"Hmmmmmm…Old white-haired guy, eh? Well unfortunately this old hotel-keeper," the man gestured to himself "sees a lot of old guys with white hair."

"He would have had a child with him. A young boy about 14 years old, wears lots of orange, and is really, really loud" asked the red-eyed Sensei.

"Hmmmmm… come to think of it, I might remember that kid." Kurenai's face lit up "Yea I remember that kid. He he. How could I forget THAT kid. He didn't stay here, but him and that old man were in the bar down the road a bit. You can't miss it, though I'll doubt that he'll remember them. If I remember correctly, they were here 'bout…6 months back," Kurenai's eyes widened at this "but I had to turn them away at what they did the time before that."

"What happened then?"

"Well, I had to get an entire wall replaced cause their stupid friends must've drug something very large to create a huge gouge in the wall about 20 feet long. Then they broke one of my windows."

_That was when Sasuke found Naruto in the hands of Itachi and Kisame._ Kurenai thought. "So you said they were here 6 months ago?"

"Yea, they came by and asked for lodging, but as I said, I had to turn them away.

"Was there anything special about when they were here that could leave hints as to where they've gone?"

"Hmmmm…" he scratched his beard "no, I can't remember anything about that. But the old man said something about the bar down the street on the corner, you can't miss it."

"OK thank you." She turned to leave. When she got outside the tapped her radio, "I maybe have a lead; I'm going to follow it up. Does any one have anything to report?"

"Akamaru and I can't find any traces of his scent anywhere."

"I have also had no luck in any of these hotels."

"I am about to meet with the Daimyo. Maybe he can help us."

"Very well, keep up your searches."

---

Hinata waited in a very comfortable brown chair outside of the Daimyo's office. Set sat twiddling her fingers, a habit in which she never grew out of. The door opened and an old man dressed in a black robe with orange flames around the hems of the bottom and the sleeves, and a collar that covered up half of his face. His hair was a mess of black with red tips. He looked at her and his eyes widened revealing the bluest and most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen, at least not since the last she'd seen _him_.

"Well now what's a pretty girl like you doing here?" he looked at her forehead protector. "OH! Playing ninja are we?"

Hinata looked at him incredulously, "B-but I AM a Shinobi!" She stood up. "I am here to represent the Hidden Village in the Leaves. I am Hyuuga Hinata of the Hyuuga clan, the most powerful clan in all of Fire Country."

The man placed his hands up in front of him. "OK, OK, I didn't mean to offend you. My name Takashi; I am a…hired hand, of sorts."

"But you must be at least 50 years old!" she replied.

He held up a finger, "Ah, and in your career as a shinobi, haven't you learned that just because you are older you are not necessarily weak?" He beamed a smile at her, though she could only see his eyes close and his cheeks tighten, then he lost it just a quickly, "even your third Hokage knew that going into battle."

She perked up, "You knew the Third?!"

"Yes he was a great man, worthy of the title of Hokage, just as Tsunade deserves it just as well."

"You knew Tsunade-sama as well?"

"He he, well yes I did. She never did hesitate to give be a deck across the cheek for doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing." He put a hand to his cheek.

"How did you know her?" asked Hinata.

"You may go in to the daimyo's office now young Miss." interjected the assistant.

"Thank you." bowed Hinata.

"Well you had better go in. The Daimyo doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"Thank you Takashi-sama" she bowed once more, and then headed into the office.

The man watched her slender figure disappear through the door. "You've grown beautiful since the last time I saw you…" He suddenly felt two eyes boring into the side of his head. He looked over to the assistant who was glaring daggers. He merely shrugged and left hearing the assistant mutter 'dirty old man' under her breath as she returned to her stack of scrolls.


	2. New Leads

**The Shadow Fox Chapter 2:**

**New Leads**

"Kurenai-sensei, come in."

"Yes Hinata?"

"I just got out of a meeting with the Daimyo. He wasn't much help. But he said to go check with the p-police station because an old man fitting Jiraya's description was taken in a few months back for disturbing the peace."

"Kurenai-sensei, I am very near the police station now I can go see about this."

"Very well Shino. Hinata, I'm still following up this lead in the bar, why don't you go check the ramen stands? If he did stop here 6 months ago then maybe the owners might know him."

"Hai, Kurenai-sensei." No ramen stand owner could ever forget Naruto.

----------

Shino entered the police station and spoke to the officer at the front desk, "Hello, I was wondering if you had any information on a young comrade of mine. His name is Uzumaki Naruto. My sources tell me that he was here six months ago, and you detained his companion for disturbing the peace; a man by the name of Jiraya.

"And why should I help you? I'm not allowed to just give that information old any person who comes in here," stated the black-haired, green-eyed officer, who hadn't even bothered to look up. "To get that information you must fill out a G-5 form in duplicate with written authorization from the Chief of Police, and Identification showing a relationship to detainee." She looked up to see Shino's eyes furrow and bugs crawling over his skin. Her eyes widened and the blood drained of her face, _BUGS_. "On second thought since you're a ninja I'll go get the records; Jiraya right?" Shino nodded as he noticed the slight shiver run down her back as she walked off.

The officer came back with a folder in her possession. She put on the counter and back away slightly. Shino mentally smiled as he took the folder and went to sit down and study it. "Please don't take too long. My superiors will be thoroughly pissed if he finds out I'm doing this."

"No need to worry."

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Hinata was walking down the corner when she stopped a passer-by, "a-ano, excuse me, but could you tell me where the best ramen in town is?"

"What the hell is with all the ramen-lovers!" the man said to the heavens. "Personally I HATE ramen, but everyone I know says that Yamanashi's Ramen is the best. It three blocks down two blocks over."

"Thank you." Hinata bowed.

---

Hinata reached the ramen stand. It was placed on the corner so it had two sides exposed to the street. It was a little larger than Ichiraku's, sporting a counter the length of two sides, and about 10 seats. She walked up to the counter and sat down in one of the seats.

"Excuse me sir," she started, getting the attention of the cook, "I need some information."

"Information, eh? Well to get information you have to give something in return." He eyed her suspiciously. "Don't worry I'm not a pervert. Hehe. Sit down, eat a bowl or two. Maybe I can help you find your friend."

"H-how did you know?" she sat down on one of the stools.

"Well a young lady like you eating ramen and asking for information? Sounds like you want information on someone otherwise you'd just ask me outright."

"Y-you're very smart sir." she bowed her head.

"HA HA. Well thank you I think I might like you better than my other customer over there." he jerked a thumb to a shadowy figure in the corner. At this the other man perked up though she could only see the hood masking his face turn so slightly in her direction. She could feel his eyes boring into her, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Hey! You know you'd be outa business if it wasn't for me! Another bowl of miso pork please. I still hold the record for the most bowls eaten at a time."

The old man sighed, "Ain't that the sad and sorry truth." He turned back to Hinata, "People just don't like ramen like they used to. Especially since the health food craze has hit the town. Though Takashi here has kept me in business through it all." He turned and pointed to a plaque on the wall. "Well there's the record, 17 bowls of miso pork ramen. sigh, I was quite sad when he broke Naruto's record of 15 bowls. Now THERE was a good kid. I don't see why everyone hates him just because he's a Jinchuuriki."

Hinata's eyes widened as she heard this. _Naruto? A Jinchuuriki?_ "What is that?"

He looked at her suspiciously "Oh you don't know. That's right. Well fortunately the Hokage doesn't have the power out here he used to have. Well Naruto…well…how do I say this…he was my friend. He helped me through the time after my wife and infant son died in a fire." His eyes started to water, "Even though he was 14 he was already very wise. Like he had also bared a great sadness, which I had later found out was true. He told me of his childhood, to which I cried, and then he told me why. That he is a Jinchuuriki, a demon-carrier."

Hinata's eyes widened even more. She listened totally enraptured in the man's story, barely putting any food into her mouth.

"When the Fourth died, he didn't kill the Nine-tails, hell, you can't KILL a demon. He knew this, so he did the next best thing. He found an infant whose chakra pathways are still under construction. Naruto. Since day one Naruto has kept the demon inside of him, keeping it under control, keeping it from escaping into the world. And from what he told me, he was hated for that. Starved, and abused, both mentally and physically. He said he only had one true friend. A man named Iruka. Do you know him? You must know him, you're a Leaf Shinobi also."

Hinata's eyes watered up and she started to cry. "I n-never knew. H-h-he w-w-was alw-w-ways s-s-so happ-p-py."

"You don't hate him do you?"

"No, I could never hate him." She sniffed, "I admired him for that. I never told him, but I saw that he desperately craved for attention. And now, I wished I had given it to him; to tell him that I'm sorry, to hold him, to tell him…that…I love him." Yamanashi's eyebrows rose at this one.

"Love! Are you sure about that? Love is a pretty powerful word. Maybe it is just an infatuation or a crush."

Hinata shook her head and wiped away her tears. "No, I know it is Love. It started out as a crush back when we were in the academy together. I had always watched him go through his tests, always failing, but picking himself back up and helping everyone else through their problems, not even bothering with his own. He always had a smile on his face, one that could make you smile just by seeing it. If you were ever feeling down or sad, Naruto could brighten up your day in 5 minutes. He made ME feel like picking myself up, brushing myself off, and barreling down through my problems head-on."

"After our first Chuunin exam, I had to fight my cousin, who was considered the most gifted student in our class. He harbored a grudge against my family, and wished to take it out on me. At that time I was the shyest girl in our class, but while everyone was cheering for Neji, Naruto was cheering for me; to pick myself up, and to keep trying. He didn't want me to die, I think he knew about my self-doubts and he wanted me to face my own demons. That's when I knew, that it wasn't just a crush anymore, but Love. I would do anything for that boy. I just wish I knew this sooner so he wouldn't have had to go through all that alone. So maybe he could have shared that burden with me." She squeezed her eyes shut, tears threatening to come back.

"That sounds like my Naruto. WELL! Enough of reminiscing about bad things, you wanted information?"

"Yes, Naruto was supposed to come back to Konoha a few weeks ago, but he hasn't showed yet. So we were sent out to track him down."

"Naruto, eh? That doesn't sound like him. He might have been a day or two late, but two weeks is so unlike him. Last time I saw him was about 5 months ago. Last time he was here he was hanging around that old guy, Jiraka, or Jikuko…"

"Jiraya." Hinata corrected.

…"yea that's the guy. Last time he came through, though he seemed very sad and detached; headed the other direction," he pointed down the street, out of fire country. "that's the last I saw of him. He paid his tab, then said 'goodbye.' Too bad. I really liked that kid."

"Thank you Yamanashi-sama." With that she put money down on the counter for her bowl of ramen, and left.

"Well Takashi what did you think of her?"

Takashi pulled his hood down to reveal the tear streaks down his cheeks. "You didn't have to tell her those things about Naruto. The last thing he needs is for people to worry about him."

"You think Naruto would have had the guts to tell her himself?"

Takashi sighed, "Probably not, but that should have been his choice, not yours."

"You may be right. But I felt like I had to. If I didn't push it nothing would happen. Hellfire, I could actually see them getting together." His eyes lit up and he put his hands together next to his head and looked up at the ceiling in a mocking romantic tone, "they would make SUCH a cute couple. HAHA!"

"You're starting to go senile old man."

"Old man? I'm only 37. I think all this ramen is going to YOUR head old man."

"He he, maybe." With that Takashi paid his bill and stood up. "Either way it was good seeing her again. I'll be gone for about a week on business. Don't let anyone break my record ok?"

"Will do. Good luck, and stay alive."

"You to." He stared to walk off only to stop and turn around a finger raised, "Oh yes, I almost forgot. 'If you say my name, I am no longer there...'"

"Oh that's a good one." replied the cook. "I'll have the answer by the time you come back." he said with a smile.

---

Hinata turned to walk away from the ramen stand after listening in on the conversation. _He knows me? But from where?_ There WAS something there that she knew was familiar. Maybe he took care of here when she was younger? _I had better tell Kurenai-sensei about this._

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Team 8 congregated at a park in the center of town.

"Report."

"I went through the pertaining to Jiraya's arrest." Everyone's eyes widened as he _actually smiled_. It disappeared. "It appears that he was drunken one day and got in a brawl and injured several men. The only reason the police could get him under control was due to the fact that he passed out and they were able to carry him to his cell where he stayed for the next day to sleep it off."

"Were there any charges?"

"No, the bartender came by and put it in a statement that some of the local thugs tried to rob him. The chief of Police actually thanked him for bringing them down."

"Good job Shino. What about you Kiba?"

"Akamaru caught his scent, but lost it 'cause it just disappeared. But he was here, recently."

"Any ideas on how long ago?"

"Akamaru says that since there weren't many other scents in the area it must have been a street that is not a very busy one, so it could be anywhere from two days ago to two weeks ago."

_Two weeks. We're getting closer._

"OK, Hinata?"

"I met two of the people here who know him. The man at the ramen stand, Yamanashi, spoke of him as though he knew him personally. I think that Naruto disappeared about 5 months ago, but has shown up here and there. And then there's Takashi."

"Who the hell is that?" asked Kiba.

"He was a man I met before I entered the Daimyo's office. Apparently he knows of me, but I don't know how. He's dressed in a black cloak with orange flames around the hem and his sleeves. He's got jet black hair and blue eyes."

"Blue eyes, eh?" Kiba elbowed her "sounds like someone we know."

"Please don't joke around like that Kiba." Kurenai warned.

"Yes sensei." Kiba replied dejectedly.

"Please continue Hinata…"

"They told me about Naruto, and about his past…." Tears started to well in her eyes, "…and about his…tenant." Shino's eyebrows rose at this and Kiba gave her a questioning look. "Please don't make me repeat it…"

"It's ok Hinata, let's just concentrate on finding Naruto."

"Hm" she nodded.

"Then let's find a room for the night."

----------

"Kiba and Shino, you two can sleep in the living room. Hinata and I will sleep in here." She said indicating the bedroom. She and Hinata went into the bedroom to unpack their clothes for the next day.

Hinata turned to Kurenai, "Kurenai-sensei?"

"What is it Hinata?"

"When I was in the Daimyo's office I saw something scrawled on a piece of paper; a name. It appeared to be on some kind of order. Like one of the Mission Information Sheets that we get.

"What was the name?" asked the red-eyed sensei.

"Shadow Fox"


	3. An Uneasy Truce

The Shadow Fox Chapter 3:

And Uneasy Truce

"Shadow fox…" muttered the Hokage as she read the message that Kurenai had sent her.

"Shadow Fox!" said the grey-haired jounin standing in front of her.

"What is it Kakashi?"

"This 'Shadow Fox' has popped up recently, and has proven to be a number one assassin. Only certain people know how to leave a calling card for him to know that a job is waiting."

"Do you know what this calling car is?"

"No." sighed Kakashi. "But I'll go check some sources maybe I can find something out."

"You might want to start in the outpost town #3 where team 8 just left. Hinata said there was a man who seemed like a shinobi was leaving the Daimyo's office and that's when see saw a red tag with 'Shadow Fox' written upon it. That may be the calling card."

"Maybe. I'll leave immediately."

"Good luck Kakashi."

(A/N: this would be where Shippuuden starts)

Team 8 and Kakashi assembled in front of Tsunade for a meeting she had called. Her eyes were puffy and red. They all knew she had been crying.

Kurenai said, "Tell me he's not ...dead." with a fearful look in her eyes, threatening to spill her tears.

Tsunade shook her head, "I don't have any word on hat. But the council has forced me into a corner. It's been 6 months, and we still have no word of either his actions or his remains. They said that since the threat of Orochimaru attacking is once again high, that we must call off the search. I cannot defy them any more on this. So your orders are to cease formally searching for Uzumaki Naruto." Her head hit her desk again as she poured another glass of Sake, emptying the bottle.

"'Formally' searching." Kakashi stated nodding his head in understanding. "Tsunade-sama, if I may have a word in private?"

She nodded dismissing Team 8. Kakashi waited until they were all gone. He formed a few seals putting a soundproof barrier in which they could talk securely.

"As you know, I've spent the last few months tracking Naruto down. And this is what I've come up with: a year ago, Naruto and Jiraya entered the outpost town # 3. That was the last time they were seen together. They both left the town, I can only guess that while heading towards Cloud Country, where Jiraya had a contact, that would train Naruto in wind jutsu, something happened and they got separated. Now the only thing that I could think of that would keep Jiraya from Naruto is the Akatsuki. I think it is only logical to think that Jiraya is dead." Tsunade's face turned from indifference to one of shock. "Otherwise," Kakashi continued, "Jiraya, even the flake that he is, would have sent word by toad to you to prepare for the worst."

"This isn't possible…" tears leaked out of Tsunade's eyes. "SHIZUNE!"

Shizune poked her head in the door meekly. "Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"I need Sake; lots of it." She dropped her head onto the table.

"Tsunade, now is not the time for that," Kakashi's eye narrowed. "I have more information. Apparently this Shadow Fox has appeared all over the countryside; from Fire country to Water, and even Sound. He seems to be a true assassin, harboring no ill will towards anyone, taking any job that is given to him. From all the information I can gather on this individual, which, mind you, isn't much; he's never failed a mission."

"Does he have a name?"

"I'm sure he does, but I haven't been able to figure that out." Even my source at the outpost town that Team 8 went to, that was something he wouldn't tell me."

Tsunade looked a little angry, "I'm sure an hour with Ibiki he would sing like a songbird, given the chance." She said with a frown.

"No. He wouldn't. This man is a professional. He's made it his job to know everyone and everything. If there's something he's not telling me. There's a reason for it. About the shadow Fox. My source says that he about 50 years of age, with black hair and blue eyes. He wears a black robe with orange flames."

"I think we might be able to use this man. If Naruto is out there he'll find him. I would have to say that he even rivals the Akatsuki in that aspect, though he is not near as strong. And I think I know where to find him." He reached into his pouch and pulled out a scroll labeled with dots and lines. "If you'll look here," he pointed to the different spots. My source is located here," he pointed to a city circled in red, "but here, here, here ,here, here, and here," he pointed respectively to each dot circled in black, "they're all centered around this city; where my contact is. Apparently my contact knows him, but as I said earlier, no luck on getting him to tell me his name. so I can only assume that this is where his base of operations is. So this is where I will go. I'll talk to the Daimyo and find the drop procedure. For the Shadow Fox."

"Very well, go and leave the card to let him know that we want to give him a job." _I am getting WAY too old for this._

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." With a seal and a "Kai!" Kakashi left in a whirlwind of leaves.

----------

Sakura and Ino were heading towards the gate to see their friend with her Byakugan activated, frantically scanning the gates and beyond. She had streaks running down her cheeks to accompany the streaks of sweat down her temples, her once beautiful and silky hair, now matted and greasy from not washing it the previous few days. Sakura and Ino walked up behind Hinata and put a hand on each of her shoulder.

"C'mon Hinata you have to stop doing this to yourself." Pleaded Ino.

"Yeah, you've been at this for days. Trust me Hinata; this isn't any easier for us. This isn't any easier for me. Team Seven is now down to two; Kakashi and me. You think it was easier for me when Sasuke left? I cried for days and days. It was about a year when I figured to let Sasuke go, and realize what a true friend Naruto was. I realized that I squandered his friendship, I had my mind dead-set on Sasuke that I didn't realize what Naruto had given me. Through all of his lame jokes and stupid antics, I realized that even I loved him." Seeing the shocked look Hinata gave her, she continued. "Not in the same way you do," she help up her pinky finger, "but instead in this way." She held up her index finger. "My number two. Next to the thumb the index finger is considered the strongest. Sure all of the fingers are important, but next to the thumb you use the index finger the most. It is used for almost all the tasks that the thumb can do. He is my little brother." A tear spilled onto Hinata's shoulder from Sakura's cheek. "Even if we aren't related by blood, I love him like I would a little brother." Sakura fell to her knees beside Hinata and softly cried, triggering tears from Hinata.

Ino took this as her cue, "Even I hated Naruto when we were younger, but for the stupid reason that my parents thought he was the nine-tailed fox demon (A/N: all of the rookie nine have heard about the nine-tails and don't care. Call it laziness but I really don't feel like writing that in.). But it turns out he was keeping us safe for all of these 15 years. And now that he's gone, it seems very quite and boring. I miss the little guy. Kiba has even tried taking over the title of class clown, but it isn't the same. Naruto seemed to be the one that kept us all sane. Without it we'll just be another group of shinobi desperately trying to keep what little shred of humanity intact within us alive."

"Other wise," Sakura continued between sobs, "we would…become…what Zabuza…and Haku became: tools of war…and nothing else. Without Naruto, we're all bound to become either Shino or Sasuke; cold and withdrawn, or cold and withdrawn and driven to insanity with a lust for power."

Ino collapsed on the ground next to Hinata and put her arms around Hinata. Sakura did likewise. The three stayed like that for an hour crying out their despair at having to abandon their favorite ninja and friend.

---

Kakashi was on top of the wall at the gate looking back down on this, and decided that now was the time to leave. _Don't worry, I'll find him. I have to find him. For you, for Tsunade, for me, for Obito and his dying wish._ With that he struck out North East towards grass country, and the outpost town that lay nestled on the border.

----------

"Candle Wax!" yelled Yamanashi as the man in the black cloak came forward and sat down. "'My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick, Fat, I am slow, Wind is my foe.' What am I? I AM CANDLE WAX!"

"Good job. It only took you an entire month. The usual please." Answered Takashi.

"Yes sir!" Yamanashi gave a curt salute and proceeded to gather his ingredients to make the miso pork. "Now it's time for mine…" Yamanashi gave him an evil grin, "… Okay, here goes: 'Forwards I am heavy, backwards I am not.'"

"Ton."

They both looked at the man who walked up to them and sat down, on Takashi's left. He wore dark blue pants and a dark blue long sleeve shirt. Covered by a green jacket festooned with pockets. He had grey hair, a mask covering his mouth and nose, and a hita-ite covering one eye.

"Hatake Kakashi" said the cook matter-of-factly.

"Yamanashi Outei."

"I take it you don't want ramen? No, no, no. You hate ramen."

"I guess I can't get anything past you. You're right I hate ramen," his eye narrowed "but my student Uzumaki Naruto loves it."

Yamanashi's eyebrows rose at this. "Oh? Uzumaki Naruto you say? And why would you bring him up?"

"Because I'm looking for him."

"You've been searching for the past six months. Don't you think you should give it up?"

"No."

"Hn. And why don't you think that you SHOULD give up?"

"Because Naruto wouldn't. And because I know you," he looked at Takashi "can find him."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you are the Shadow Fox."

"What if I refuse?"

"Then I will kill you." Kakashi's eye narrowed dangerously.

"That doesn't sound like the Kakashi that I've heard about; the son of Konoha's White Fang."

Kakashi's eye sharpened at the mention of his father, "But you know I will do it for my student, and friend." He put a hand to his hita-ite.

The Shadow fox sighed, "Very well, take me to your Hokage. It is my understanding that she is behind this?"

"Un-officially."

"Then 'unofficially', I will go to Konohakagure, and seek out your Hokage."

Kakashi lowered his hand. "A very wise decision."

The shadow fox shrugged, "Eh, I really don't feel like fighting on an empty stomach. Hey Boy!..."

"I'd rather be called Old Man…" the cook sighed.

"…don't let my ramen burn."

Yamanashi stood up shocked, "OH NO, I don't want to ruin my perfect record!" He turned back to his stove and began furiously attending to his food.

The Shadow Fox turned back to Kakashi, "Don't bother watching for me. I'd rather keep this quiet. I'll come soon. But stay by your Hokage, I'd rather not be seen by two reckless ANBU."

Kakashi sighed, stood up and walked away. _Well that worked out better than I had hoped…_


	4. Message in the Night

**Chapter 4:**

**Message In the Night**

Genma sighed. He'd been on the graveyard shift for the past four nights in a row. Nothing ever happened at night. They close the gates, and have to challenge everyone who approaches from the top of the wall. Genma would sit there most likely staring at the stars, just thinking about the happenings of Konoha; the new hot springs being built, Tsunade's face being cut into the mountain, that kid's disappearance. _That kid was somethin' else. Who'd have ever thought that the dead-last ninja could beat the Hyuuga prodigy? Too bad, even I could tell that he would have been a great ninja. He had the drive and means to do it. What is this?_

A mist started to form about a mile off, a mist thicker than he had ever seen in Konoha before.

"Hey Genma! I'm gonna take a leak, ok?"

"Yea sure, but be quick about it. Then go grab some ANBU. I have a bad feeling about this mist that forming a ways off." He pointed outside of the walls.

"Sure thing!" The Chuunin answered. He jumped down and went behind the gatehouse.

Genma could hear him unzip and start to piss. He stared into the inky darkness barely able to see the mist. It was coming closer.

'THUMP'

Genma heard the body crumple behind him. He jumped down off of the wall, "Hey, Ataru, you OK?" he crept towards the edge of the gatehouse peering around the side. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around getting a sickening feeling in his gut. As he came to face the intruder, the intruder lifted the rim of his hat to show his blood-red eyes. And then all went black.

-----

The dark figure rose, and started to walk into the city; his black and orange cloak flowing in the wind. The lone figure walked down the deserted streets his cloak blowing to the side with the wind, his straw hat obscuring all possibilities of identification. A couple was rounding the corner minding their own business chattering away when they saw him. The blood drained from their faces as the figures head turned toward them and they caught glimpse of one sickening red eye. They both turned around and hurried away only to find the man blocking their path.

"Let's keep this to ourselves shall we?" the man rasped.

"Y-y-you g-g-got it m-m-m-m-mister. W-we d-don't want any t-t-troub-b-ble."

"You're smart, but just to be sure…" his hands came out of his sleeves and formed a seal.

"Please! We don't want any trouble! We won't tell anyone we swear!" the man covered the woman in an effort to shield her from this monster. She quickly feinted and the man caught her in his arms.

"Neither do I. Don't worry. You aren't my target. You'll wake up in 5 hours with only a headache."

The look on the man's face brightened up a bit, if only just a little, before his world melted around him. He felt himself unable to talk, unable to scream. Though all that came out of his mouth was a gurgle before he collapsed.

----------

"_I'm going to be Hokage one day! Just like great-grandpa!" yelled the blond haired boy._

"_I'm sure you will Nawaki" replied his blond mother._

"_You're not going to be Hokage because I'M going to be Hokage! I'm going to be the strongest and best ninja in the whole village. Believe it!" yelled Naruto as he came into focus to face the small boy._

_Tsunade smiled as a tear rolled down her cheek looking at these two boys who were almost copies of each other, both two of her most precious in the world. Naruto why did you have to leave us? Why did you have to leave me? Why do I always have everyone I care about die on me?_

"Tsunade…"

_Who is that?_

"Tsunade…wake up…" Tsunade twitched and automatically lashed out hoping to catch whoever it was waking her up a left hook in the jaw. But her hand caught only air. She sat bolt upright in a cold sweat, a slight tingling sensation running down her spine.

"This way…" She could only do as the voice commanded wondering what was in store. She opened the door and walked down the hallway. "You're getting warmer…" whispered the voice. She kept walking until she got to her office.

"Is everything alright Hokage-sama?" asked Kakashi as he came out of the shadows.

"Everything's fine, I just need to check on something." She opened the door and disappeared inside without giving Kakashi a chance to ask her further question. As soon as she got through the door, she saw the source of the voice. The black robed figure was sitting in one of the chairs facing her desk. She could probably knock him out with one good blow to the back of his head, but she, for some reason, wanted to know what this is all about.

"Please sit…" the figure whispered as he motioned to her chair.

She did as he told her, numbly walking over to her chair and sitting down. He kept his hat on covering his head she could see nothing but the hat, shadow, and then the cloak. "What do you want?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"Actually, what is it that YOU want?"

Tsunade's face eased up a bit as she realized who she was talking to. "So you're the Shadow Fox. I must say you live up to your name. Not very many people can infiltrate the office of a Hokage without anyone seeing them."

"One does, what One can." She knew he was smiling "But, I did not escape detection so easily. A few of your ANBU and Chuunin will wake up with headaches tomorrow and will want to know what hit them."

"What should I tell them?"

"Tell them it was an efficiency exercise, to see if anyone could infiltrate your office." He smiled again. But that does not concern us right now. What concerns us, is a certain Uzumaki Naruto."

Tsunade's eyes widened at his mention of Naruto's name. Her eyes narrowed. "Can you find him?" she said simply.

"Of course I can find him. In fact, I already know where he is."

"What? Where? How?" she stammered.

"Once again, that does not concern us right now. What concerns us is Naruto."

"What-

"Hokage-sama!" someone yelled on the other side of the door. "Hokage-sama there's an emergency!"

"You know the great thing about large cloaks?" the man whispered, "no one can see you make seals." Tsunade's eyes widened. And she saw the seal on the door. "Don't worry; I've made sure that my visit will not be interrupted by pathetic underlings. The only ones who could break through that door are the siblings."

"You can trust me that no one will bother us."

"I am sorry, but a man in my position does not survive as long as he has by taking unnecessary risks."

"Tsunade-sama let us in!"

"Tell them not to worry… they're making me anxious…"

"Don't worry about me! I'm fine!" she yelled at the door "I'll be out in a minute!"

"I will bring Naruto back here, though; it might prove harder than you might think."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Akatsuki. They came VERY close to catching him 2 years ago. Since then he's been traveling on his own throughout the world learning from different teachers. The Akatsuki have been trying very hard to locate him. But they have been having some difficulty…" he smiled evilly.

"Meaning…?"

"Meaning…" his arm shifted under his cloak and he threw out three rings onto Tsunade's desk. One bloody, one singed, and the other squished.

It is an understatement to say she was shocked. She reached out to touch the rings. _Yes, they are real!_

"…Hopefully Itachi will attack us again. Maybe then I'll get that bastard back for what he did to me…"

"Look, I don't know how we can ever repay you, except offer you citizenship and, at the very least Jounin level rank."

"Well now, don't offer me too much…" he smiled once again "Only two of those were killed by the Shadow Fox. One is Naruto's."

It was Tsunade's turn to smile "I knew sending Jiraya with him was a good idea."

"Actually Jiraya didn't have any hand in it."

"WHAT!? Oh if I find him I swear I'LL KILL HIM! He had better hope that he never returns to Konoha. Or at the very least Naruto had better arrive without a scratch on him." She reached underneath her chair to the bottle of sake there and took a large drag.

"I'll leave that story to Naruto when he arrives. I'll think about your offer, though I doubt I'll accept…"

"Thank you…" she smiled and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"With that, I'll take my leave." He stood up and looked at her. She sat there enraptured in the man's blood red eyes. The man walked over to her window, opened it, and left with a small "Kai!".

---

Tsunade stood and left the room fifteen minutes later to find Kakashi, Gai, and Shizune, accompanied by a dozen ANBU. They could see her tears and her smile and realized that she had good news.

"What is it Tsunade-sama?" asked Shizune.

Tsunade didn't even answer. All she did was hold out her fist and opened it showing the three rings.

"Are those…?" Kakashi stammered.

Shaking off the feeling of amusement of Kakashi actually stammering Tsunade said, "These are three rings of the three Akatsuki members who have died. Apparently two were killed by my little midnight visitor, and the other was killed by," she smiled once again, "by Naruto."

Kakashi smiled "That's Naruto for you. Even leading us to believe he's dead just to make a big show upon coming back by killing one of the Akatsuki members. Do you know who was killed?"

"I can only say that Kisame was one. Seeing as how he said he wants 'Itachi' to attack him and not Itachi and Kisame."

"The others…?"

Tsunade shook her head.

"Ah! I knew Naruto's flame of you couldn't be put out so easily. I have a feeling it burns brighter than ever now!" Gai yelled to everyone as he started to cry.

"Alright everyone…" Tsunade said suddenly serious. "Nobody outside us can know about this. The Akatsuki are trying to find him out there, they aren't trying to find him here. We don't want them to attack him while he's on his way back. So let's keep this under wraps; that's an order, ok?

She was answered with a unanimous "Hail!"

With that everyone decided that was the time to leave. Only Kakashi stayed. After everyone had gotten out of sight, Kakashi turned to Tsunade, "So…since, he killed a member of the Akatsuki, don't you think we should promote him when he gets back?"

"My thoughts exactly…" Tsunade smiled.


	5. Return of a Hero

"Ugh. Two Weeks." Genma sighed. "I can't believe the Hokage suspended me for two weeks. Oh 'medical purposes,' yea right."

"Well do you think that I want to be here?"

"No. You should be in the academy teaching your students."

"Yea, it's a wonder why she put me on Gate watch. I'd rather be at home sleeping with a large pizza."

"Hn." Genma tongued the senbon hanging out of his mouth. "She said we're supposed to be getting a very important visitor today."

"Is that right? Eh, it's probably just a local daimyo or something like that."

"She seems happier than normal the past few weeks. Maybe she's finally gotten over Naruto's disappearance."

"Yea; his disappearance hit us all hard. He was dead last the entire time at the academy, but I wonder if it was either him holding back, or the stress that the villagers put on him. It's horrible what they did to him. And they call _him_ the monster."

"You're right Iruka. It's a wonder he didn't end up like that Garra kid; shunned his entire childhood, beaten, chased, and disgusted. He could have easily snapped and killed us all by letting the nine-tails out."

Iruka motioned him to be quiet as a cart was rolling in. "Please state your business in Konoha please."

"My son and I make weapons and were coming here on our monthly visit to see your weapons dealers to sell our wares." replied the voice from the cart. The old man reached into a sack next to him. Genma tensed. Then he was handed paperwork of clearance from Waterfall.

Genma looked over the papers and the old man's identification, and motioned to the top of the gate. "Everything seems in order here. Good luck."

"Thank you young man." The old man smiled as he urged the horses forward through the now opening gate.

Ever since the sound attack three and a half years ago the gates have stayed closed. In an effort to screen the incoming traffic better to prevent spies. The cart passes Genma and he saw the young blonde boy asleep on one of the sacks. He sighed. Everyone reminded him of the blonde shinobi.

"Scuttlebutt says the Hokage has enlisted special help to find Naruto." Genma said out of nowhere.

Iruka looked at him, "Really? Wonder who that could be."

"Yea , but if even Kakashi couldn't find him after six months, do you think this guy could?"

"Anything to get Naruto back…" Iruka stared at the ground.

"Are you going to visit the memorial later?"

"Yes. And I'm glad someone decided to take it upon themselves to carve his name into the stone. He deserves it."

"Did they ever find out who did it?"

"No and I seriously doubt that they will. Even though that there is a short list of everyone who loved him. I don't think that Tsunade will pursue it very much." He said with a smile. "Ugh, what was that idiot thinking? Leaving us like that…" he yelled exasperated.

"Stop dwelling on it, you'll get over it eventu…" the senbon that he had been tonguing in his mouth suddenly embedded itself into the ground, his eyes wide, his jaw slack.

Iruka saw this look. He had never seen Genma without the senbon sticking out from between his lips. "What is it?" He follow Genma's eyes. What he saw made his jaw go slack as well.

Standing there not sixty feet away was the blonde shinobi who had been gone fore almost 4 years. He had black highlights in his normal bright blonde hair. No longer in the "Please kill me now" orange, he sported black ANBU style pants tied off at the bottoms; on his right leg, was strapped-instead of a kunai pouch- was a longer thinner box; a dark grey t-shirt that was somewhat tight, but wasn't threatening to rip at the seams; Blackish-red armguards and black gloves with a metal plate on the top of each hand. Underneath each armguard was strapped a small capsule with a hold in the front of it. They were each adorned with a seal. On his belt hung two scrolls on his left side, and a small 4 inch gourd on his right side hanging loosely, yet securely. Though the only reason they could see this was because his heavy black cloak was pulled back to allow air to pass through. Though this made his look even more menacing.

"N-Naruto." Iruka said with an ever increasing smile on his face. "Naruto!" He waved as he started to approach Naruto, but was held back by a hand. He looked at Genma only to see him shake his head.

"Something isn't right. The Naruto we know would have been screaming his head off by now, running towards us yelling about how he's going to get you buy treat him to ramen. Where is Jiraya anyway? "

"He HAS been gone for four years. Maybe he has grown up." With that Naruto had come within five feet of where they stood looking straight into Iruka's eyes. They both stood there unwavering for a few minutes before Naruto's mouth started to creep into a smile. Wider it got until it threatened to split his face right in two.

"I missed you." He said flashing a toothy grin. He threw his arms around Iruka and they embraced each other like a father would a son. "What are you doing guarding the gate? Shouldn't you be teaching class?"

"That's what I asking earlier" he casting a sidelong glance at Genma.

"Welcome back Kid." He said with a grin, still tonguing the senbon in his mouth.

"Thanks, it's good to be back." He answered noticing the ever-present stick in Genma's mouth. "I can finally see why you like those." He said pointing at Genma's mouth. He held his hand up and produced his own senbon between his fingers. Noticing Genma's raised eyebrow he explained further turning his arm around showing him the capsules that adorned his underarms, "Wonderful little contraption. The seals allow me to hold about 100 senbon in each arm. Funnel a little chakra into it and…" he said as another senbon shot into his grip. "…much more accurate and graceful than an ungainly kunai, though I keep a few of those too." He added, patting his leg.

"You should go see Tsunade. She'll be wanting to smother you since she almost had to give up on you six months ago." He saw Naruto's eye flash sadness for a second, but as soon as it was there it disappeared behind a weak smile and a nod.

Genma gave a wave to the men on top of the gate for them to open it. He then turned to Naruto and shook his hand, "All right you go straight to the Hokage's office and don't deface the monument ok?"

"Don't worry. I've grown out of that faze." He said as he cast his eyes over the monument. _So, they finally got around to putting Baa-chan's face on the mountain_. He smiled and walked inside of the gates giving one final wave to the Chuunin Guards.

-------

_Not much has changed. Except for Baa-chan's face nothing really seems different_. he mused. _I'll just have to play along and do my job. I'll be out of this wretched place soon enough._ He noticed people giving him looks. Not the looks he was used to, but looks of fear. He could hear their whispers and almost SMELL their fear. He smirked driving a few of them to drop their things and run home in terror. _Fear. That's what drives people. Fear of dying, fear of being alone._ This one pertained to him the most. The fear of being alone. He remembered the glares and words that the villagers would send his way, the mobs every October that would scour the village to look and hopefully to kill him. He still shuddered upon remembering the times that they did catch him. _Doesn't matter; they will stop soon enough. Especially when they see how powerful I have become._ He smirked again.

He arrived at the Hokage tower and paused before opening the doors. "Hmm…" He opened the doors and headed up the stairs to the Hokage's office.. As he neared the office he could see the ANBU guards blending into the wall. One of them disengaged his Henge and looked at him, holding out his hand. He handed one of hem his identification and noticed the stiffening of the man's back, before nodding and holding out his ID to take back.

Just as he was about to open the door he heard voices.

"…We don't want a funeral; we just want his name properly etched into the memorial. We only want him to be properly remembered."

_Sakura_. he smiled.

"Look, Sakura that will never happen."

"WHY! He deserves more than any of us!" she sobbed.

"Keep your voice down."

"You of all, I would have thought would want to have a funeral in his honor." He heard Sakura growl. He could hear the footsteps getting louder. Throwing a warning glance and a finger to his lips towards the ANBU member there he put his back against the wall and immediately blended into it. He saw the door swing open and Sakura came out huffing. She stomped off down the hallway muttering to herself.

Tsunade cam out of the door looking at the retreating back of the pink-haired Kunoichi, and then to the ANBU who was holding something in his hand. She took one glance at it then gave the ANBU member a questioning look. He pointed to the shape that seemed to be coming out of the wall dropping the Henge.

With a smile that threatened to split her face she completely engulfed the boy in her arms.

"Oh Naruto I thought I'd never see you again." She cried out, with tears streaming down her cheeks. She put her hands on his shoulders to push him away to an arms length. "Look at you; you look all grown up. And you look like a real ninja now. Thank god you decided to ditch orange. Anyone could see you coming from a mile away."

She cast a glance down the hall where Sakura had been a moment before. "Where's Jiraya?"

Naruto's eyes lost the hint of happiness that was there, "Let's go inside shall we?" he motioned to her door.

She eyed him warily, "Of course." She stepped back through the doorway into the room where her assistant Shizune worked.

Shizune's eyes widened as she saw who walked through the door and a smile crept upon her lips.

"Shizune." Tsunade said curtly, "Naruto and I are going to need a while. Please keep us uninterrupted."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune nodded.

---------

"So tell me what happened." Tsunade started resting her head upon her elbows looking at Naruto intently.

"To answer your question from outside." He went to his belt. "This, is Jiraya" He put the gourd that was hanging from his belt onto the desk.

Tsunade closed her eyes and breathed out heavily. Naruto could already see the tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

"He once told me that a ninja's vices are money, women, and alcohol. Well he was right about that. Though I didn't know Kisame was willing to go that far." Her eyebrows furrowed. "When Jiraya and I were on our way back from Cloud…"

----------

"That's quite the story…"

"There's more." Naruto said. "That was over a year and a half ago…"

"WHAT?? You mean you've been out there all by yourself for almost two years!!! What about the Akatsuki??? What about us??? Didn't you think to return here, or at the very least let us know that you were safe? Do you have any idea what you put us through?" she sighed rubbing her temples. "I've had to dismantle Team 7. Kakashi has become ANBU again, and Sakura has become my apprentice. She's almost grown as strong as I have." They both smiled at this.

"I heard you and her talking before I came in. You should let them. The funeral I mean." Seeing her 'are you crazy' look he elaborated, "I'll make an appearance there. Those who really know me will approach me; and those who don't…won't. Plus it will ease the tension of the villagers. They seem to be really on edge with my coming back. I think it would be best for them to be kept in the dark about this."

Tsunade smiled "I don't like the idea of a funeral. It'll put too much stress and angst upon your friends. But I can see you're right about the villagers. You gotten smarter Naruto." She admitted with a smile.

"Thank you. And they'll get over it. Plus I want to see how many of them will see me, and what they think." He smirked. He turned to leave. "You know you can always say the funeral is for Jiraya." He cooed over his shoulder. And with that, he left her alone to her thoughts."

_What else happened out there Naruto? You are not yourself._ Then she noticed the scroll left of the table.

---------------------------------

Everyone was assembled on top of the very same roof that held the funeral for the Sandaime almost four years back. The dark grey clods threatened to spill their tears, but seemed to be held in check, as if waiting for something; some sign to unleash their anguish. The number of people gathered on the rooftop numbered in the hundreds, most of them being either ninja or the local nobles. Below countless more lined the streets listening to the words that Tsunade was speaking.

Up on the platform stood Tsunade accompanied by an urn on a pedestal, and a picture of a younger Jiraya draping an arm round Tsunade giving the Victory sign, and beaming a smile at whoever was taking the picture.

"We're taking the day to remember a man who was honorable, strong, and truly a good shinobi. We're here today to remember Jiraya, one of the three legendary Sennin." She paused, "Jiraya always, put his friends before himself. Well…almost always. I did catch him about once a week doing his 'research'". A few of the ninjas chuckled. "But through his 'research', his wandering around; he was always loyal to Konoha, and to his friends. We will all miss him in one form or another. Upon this pedestal are his remains. After his death he was given a ceremonial funeral pyre. We had just received his remains because of one Uzumaki Naruto…" She smiled as she saw some eyes widen and heard the gasps. "…who risked his life to give us Jiraya's remains;" she paused and fumbled in her jacket  
along with these." She held up the three Akatsuki rings. She smiled even greater when she heard louder gasps and a few mumbles.

----------

Sakura stood there in her black dress flanked by Kakashi and Hinata. Hinata, following tradition, was wearing a black dress even though she didn't know Jiraya; because very few did. Hinata and the rest of the rookie nine were treating this as a burial for two.

Sakura grabbed Hinata's hand noticing the shy pal-eyed girl jump when she did. Sakura gave her a reassuring look. Both of their eyes were red and swollen from crying for long periods of time. Don't worry; after this were going to head on over to the memorial and have our own private funeral. This time I'm going to fix my mistake and properly engrave his name into it." Her eyes shown with a determination that Hinata had only seen in her Naruto.

When Tsunade brought out the rings, they both gasped. Hinata brought her hands up to her mouth, and now her eyes moistened again. Not because of the mention of Naruto's name, or sadness, but with joy. "Naruto…k-killed three?"

"Not exactly…" Kakashi spoke "He only killed one. But don't worry, that, in itself, is worthy of an honor. It's just too bad that the council and most of the nobles are too blinded by their hatred of Naruto that we can't give him an official ninja memorial by engraving his name in the memorial. Though, from what I hear won't be too much of a problem soon." He took note of the stiffening in their backs. "You shouldn't be too hasty. After, don't you think we should wait until we recover Naruto's body until you fully desecrate the memorial?"

"But sensei, what if we never find his…body." Sakura choked out.

"I have a feeling we won't have to." Sakura could see the folds of his mask indicating a smile.

"What do you mean i sensei /i ?" she asked giving him a suspicious look.

"You know Naruto. You don't think he'd roll over and die so easily do you? He still has to become Hokage doesn't he?"

"Yeah…" she looked down.

----------

Hinata was getting bored. She was almost to the point of pulling out her hair, she was so bored. She did not really know Jiraya, and therefore wanted to get to the impromptu funeral for Naruto so she could begin the healing process of losing a loved one.

She started to scan the crowd looking for the rest of the rookie nine so they could all walk to the monument together. _Neji-niisan, Tenten-chan, Lee-san, my team, Sakura-chan, Shikamaru-san, Ino-chan, Choji-san. There's Ichiraku-sama, one of the few people to actually care about Naruto for who he is. I'll have to go over there and speak to him before we leave._

Her eyes continued to wander through the crowd resting on one man in particular. She didn't know why this mane seemed so familiar. His yellow and black hair, those blue eyes that looked so much like Naruto-kun's but didn't have the same spark in them. They look like they belonged to someone who had seen so much blood; so much death that they didn't believe in life anymore. She watched as a single tear went down his cheek. Not even bothering to wipe it off he turned and left. For some reason she felt compelled to follow him.

She turned to leave, her eyes not leaving the man's back. She barely registered Sakura calling her name and responding, "I'll be back in a minute…"

----------

_Why would he come here?_

She stood next to one of the buildings with her hands resting on the building watching the young man's back. Why would he come atop the fourth Hokage's head? This used to be where Naruto used to come to think.

She noticed a break in the clouds allowing a shaft of sunlight to shine through.

"Well…?"

She jumped with an "EEP!" She shakily took step after step forward until she was standing a few steps away from him. "G-gomen."

"Don't worry about it. Please have a seat." He motioned to his right

"T-thank you."

"Please…stop stuttering. It makes you sound incompetent." He looked at her out from the corner of his eye.

She flinched at the word; it bringing up a painful memory of her father berating her after another shameful defeat at the hands of her younger sister, Hanabi. "Hai." He nodded steeling herself.

"So why did you follow me from the funeral?"

"I really don't know. I just felt like I had to follow you."

"He he. Well I guess you wouldn't be a very good hunter-nin, seeing as how you can't mask your chakra to save your life." He noticed her widening eyes. "I knew you were following me from the get-go."

She nodded "Did you know Jiraya?"

"Yes. I spent some time with him a while back." He smiled. "Always doing 'research'." He smiled again.

She smiled too "I like that.."

"Hm?"

"When you smile. I like it."

His eyebrows raised.

She suddenly felt the heat on her face as she blushed.

"Blushing now are we?"

Her blush deepened.

"Don't worry, you don't have to be shy around me. Consider me a friend." She nodded. "So do you stalk people often? Even though you can't mask chakra you can hide very well." He said with a wry smile.

"No only one…" she clasped her hands to her mouth immediately regretting as soon as the words left her mouth.

"So…we have a crush on someone do we? Oh my, it wasn't Jiraya now…" he teased.

"No! It was…someone else. Someone close to me. Though he never knew…" her tears returned. "…I never got the chance to tell him before he died." Her tears were dampening the ground underneath her as her tears spilled out. Her hands fisted on top of her bent knees only to grabbed by his strong hands. She looked into his eyes. Those eyes that once seemed dead and lifeless now seemed to be full of compassion and warmth. She felt her blush deepen right there, threatening to set her hair on fire.

"I'm sure you'll get over your love of this man." He smiled, his eyes turning into upside –down U's. "His eyes showed a spark with his mischievous grin. "If not you could always go out with me."

She had to will herself not to faint right then and there. _…looks so much like Naruto-kun…_

"Take it easy," he said beaming at her "it was just a joke. Even though you are cute, you don't have to go out on a date with me." With that he stood up and turned to leave; leaving her still staring at his back trying to force back the wave of unconsciousness that threatened to take her.

Just before he left her eyesight, he turned back around to lock eye with her. He winked, "The offer still stands." He finally turned the corner and left.

That was it. She happily met the ground as unconsciousness took her, and she dreamt of this dreamy man she had just met.

----------

Naruto looked back around the corner to see how Hinata was reacting to his offer. He chuckled to himself seeing that se had feinted and was lying on the ground. _She has a funeral to go to. It would be good if she didn't go to a funereal that she had helped plan._

He walked back over to her and scooped her up as he turned back and set off towards the memorial that stated the names of all of the shinobi who have died in the line of duty.


	6. A Welcome Reunion

Naruto walked up the hill towards the monument that marked each Shinobi's name who gave their life in protection of the village. He was not alone however; not with the blue-haired heiress in his arms. Twice she had woken from unconsciousness, and twice she had gone back under. He could sense his comrades up ahead of him, and mentally prepared himself for what was to come.

He could already hear what their questions would be…

"_Who are you?"_

"_Why do you have Hinata?"_

"_Prepare to defend yourself!"_

"_Put Hinata down!"_

And then once they figured out who exactly he was…

"_Where have you been?"_

"_Why did you leave us?"_

"_Why didn't you come back?"_

"_I'm gonna KILL YOU!"_

He smile when he thought of what Sakura was going to try to do to him once they learned of his past journey. Of course, he was through getting beaten to a bloody pulp everywhere he spoke his mind near Sakura. He didn't plan on hurting her, but he sure has hell didn't plan on letting her hurt him.

"Oh well….." He sighed. Hinata squirmed in his arms and smuggled closer to his chest, obviously enjoying the warmth "HM!" he chuckled, "Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you." Her eyes twitched open, woken by his voice amplified through his chest. "Please don't pass out again." He smiled.

"EEP!" Hinata squeaked, but didn't fall into unconsciousness again.

"Good morning sleepy-head. Or actually, I should say, good evening." He set the furiously blushing girl on her feet.

"Good evening. OH NO! EVENING! I'm sorry, I have to go!" she bowed and turned to run away.

"The funeral?" he raised an eyebrow as he watched her stop and look at him.

"How did you know?"

"I heard you and your friend talking about it earlier."

"From all the way across the crowd?"

"These ears aren't just for show" she smiled and tapped his ear.

"Hm…well I have to be leaving now." She started to walk away only to be followed by Naruto. "Ano...can I help you with something?"

"I'm going to the funeral too." He smiled

"You knew Naruto?"

He nodded and walked towards the monument and her awaiting friends.

----------

Sakura scanned the pathway leading to their meeting place. She was there, along with all of Naruto's other friends when she spotted Hinata come over the rise. "FINALLY!" she threw her hands into the air. "Hinata, I thought you'd never come; especially because this is Naruto's funeral. Wait, who is that?" she pointed at Naruto.

"Ano… I don't know." She looked at him, "He never said his name."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but the breath stopped in his mouth as he saw his own name sloppily scratched into the memorial stone. His eyes suddenly were on fire. He looked angrily at each of them there. "WHICH ONE OF YOU DID THIS?" He yelled and pointed to the stone.

They all looked nervously at each other, none willing to speak, lest the strange man draw his gaze on them; at least, not until Sakura shakily raised her hand, not raising her eyes from the ground. His eyes softened when she did so. "Look, this stone is for those who gave their lives for this village. Those who lived lives of honor, and died gloriously on the battlefield, or gave their lives protecting the ones they loved. Naruto's name does not belong here."

"But…!"

"HEY…!"

"Ano…"

"Wait…!"

None of them had the chance to finish before Naruto started to string along seals. They all stood, mouths agape, as he finished the extremely long and complex jutsu in under a few seconds.

"That's a jutsu I've never seen before…." Neji stood, his eyes locked onto Naruto's hands.

"That's even more complex than Kakashi-sensei's **Water Dragon Blast**!"

"Doton: Suppai fushoku no jutsu" **(Earth style: Acid Corrosion Jutsu)**

They all stood rooted to the spot as they watch a dark brown liquid come out of the ground to rest over Naruto's name, cleanly corroding it off of the stone, leaving no trace but a small indentation of where the name used to be.

Sakura's expression changed from shock and awe, to anger as she watched this strange man just erase the existence of their best friend's name off of his death-right. "HEY!"

_Yea right! Like I'm gonna let him desecrate Naruto's name like that? Hell NO!_ screamed inner Sakura. She cocked her fist back and charged it with chakra.

"Wait Sakura-chan…" Lee said. He walked over towards the man, and stood inches away from him, his eyes starting into the man's unwavering eyes. Lee suddenly grabbed the man and embraced him into a huge hug, crying over his shoulder. "I knew your flame of youth could not be extinguished so easily!" he yelled jumping up and down.

"Umm…Lee-san?" Tenten asked.

Lee turned towards Tenten, but said nothing. The only thing he did was take off his belt and run over behind the man and put it over his forehead just like a normal leaf shinobi.

They stood there for a few seconds before it dawned on them. Tenten heard a crash and turned her head expecting to see Hinata on the ground, but found that Hinata was, though blushing furiously, was standing upright still staring dumbly at Naruto. The person who had actually passed out was Sakura.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata mumbled.

"The one and only…" he said with a smile.

This time Hinata really did pass out.

---

"You owe us some answers…" Neji stated.

"I know, but it can wait for later. I still must get settled back in. I only got back this morning."

"You've been here since this morning, and you didn't come see us?" Tenten said with a whine.

"You know Baa-chan…She had me in her office for hours." He lied. "I've been all over the village just taking it all back in." he looked back at the buildings in the distance "Not much has changed."

"It has." Neji deadpanned. "Maybe not the buildings or training grounds, but the people have. The mood here has grown dark and moody. Everyone seems on edge. Some people," he looked at his cousin, whose head was in Tenten's lap, "have been crushed since you've gone. The whole morale of the village has plummeted."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to elaborate.

"Sure, the villagers celebrated when you had gone, seeing as how they thought the Kyuubi was dead," he paused watching Naruto flinched at the word 'Kyuubi', "but most of the shinobi have been slipping: mission success rates, missions taken, and training dummies wrecked." he glanced at Lee.

"Maybe we were all afraid to admit it, but we all missed you Naruto…" Kiba said with a slight smile on his face. "Now I don't have to prank anyone anymore."

"Hm…well, I'm afraid I've grown out of that phase. Two years on my own, I've had to grow up, a lot."

"That doesn't mean you can't have fun." Kiba elbowed Naruto.

He only smiled and stretched his arms above his head, and chuckled when he was Ino and Tenten staring at him with a slight blush. "Well. I've got to get going. I've got to go get settled in." he scratched the back of his head. "And then maybe a quick bite to eat before I go see Baa-chan for my mission status." He was answered with a howl from his mid-section. "On second thought maybe I'll go get some food now before I die from starvation."

"Mind if I join you? Maybe you can tell us how the forces of evil tried to extinguish your flames of youth, but failed!" Lee more told than asked.

"Do I have a choice?" the question was greeted by a shake of Lee's head. He only shrugged and turned towards the two downed girls. "I'll just revive the girls and we'll all go out for some ramen…" He grinned "…my treat."

"Wow. I'M UP FOR THAT!" Choji yelled.

Naruto walked over to Sakura and put Sakura's temples in between his thumb and middle fingers. He closed his eyes in concentration and was rewarded a few seconds later by the fluttering of Sakura's eyes.

"Wha…?"

"Take it easy. You passed out from the shock. Wait a minute or two before standing up. The last thing we need is or you to be dizzy all the way to Ichiraku's." he stated as he moved towards Hinata. He did the same for her.

"What…happened? Naruto-kun…he…c-carried me here." She said with a smile. Then she realized where she was and who was standing over her. She turned beet-red.

"Now's not the time to pass out again. C'mon," he motioned to follow him "we're all going to Ichiraku's." he smiled.

"And it's his treat!!!" yelled Choji.

"Yea yea, You keep screaming like that and I might have to limit you to five bowls." He grinned as he saw the crestfallen Choji fall silent. He turned to walk towards the ramen stand that stood in town. "Mmmmmm…it's been a while since I've had Ichiraku's. I wonder if it has gotten any better…still; since I've had Yamanashi's ramen, I'm going to have to compare. It's going to be pretty hard to compare them to each other. Their both soo good…"

Sakura and Ino both laughed as they watched Naruto muse over ramen, and almost doubled over as they saw the drool spill out over his lip.

-------

"Five bowls of your best Miso Pork! And then a bowl for each of my comrades!"

"That voice…" he turned around and took a good long stare at Naruto. "Naruto! Welcome back! Of course Ayame! Get our Special Stock ready! We have a special customer." He yelled into the back.

"Yes father!" Ayame walked out into the front where Naruto could see her. Her eyes went wide as she saw Naruto. She ran around outside and engulfed him into a big hug.

Naruto was just as surprised as everyone else there. "A-Ayame?"

She jumped back from him "Oh sorry…" she said with a blush. She turned and ran back into the kitchen turning her attention fully to the counter where the vegetables lay waiting to be diced up. She missed the glares from three of the four Kunoichi; the only one oblivious was Sakura, who was still nursing a pounding headache. Apparently Naruto's healing technique had not been as gentle with her as it had been with Hinata.

"Naruto, what happened toy our hair? And where did the marks on your face go?" Teuchi asked.

"That's right. I can't believe I didn't notice…" Sakura mumbled.

"Huh? Oh right." He pulled a napkin off of one of the dispensers on the counter. "Well I was sorta supposed to lay low for a while, but when I was at the funeral, I didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention, from both ninja and non-ninja alike. Since some people can till sense my Genjutsu, however few the may be, I decided that makeup worked better." He wiped the makeup off of his face revealing the six whisker marks on his face. "And the hair?" he ran fingers through his hair "I just saw someone else with hair like it, and I thought it would look cool." He scratched the back of his head with a huge grin.

Naruto got his first bowl with the rest of them, but refrained from digging in. Hinting at his distress, Ino came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. He tensed visibly at this, but then seemed to relax with an outward sigh.

"I guess you guys will want to know what happened out there." He looked straight into his food as if the answer lay deep within the meat and broth.

He sighed deeply, "I guess I'll start when Jiraya and I left for Cloud…"


	7. An Unwelcome Response

"I guess I'll start from when Jiraya and I went to Cloud…"

---------

"It was three weeks since Jiraya and I had left the village. We had entered a town in Cloud country where Jiraya had a contact who knew of the Akatsuki movements. Apparently they're on the move; but I don't want to worry you anymore than need be. I was to stay there for nine weeks before we left again. During that time I trained with one of Jiraya's old friends."

"Not much happened during that time, other than the fact that I learned quite a few new Justus and got really strong." He smiled "Anyways, we spent the next few months heading around Cloud training and following the Akatsuki. We had heard of one of the nine-tailed beasts, the Sanbi (**Three-tails**)." He noticed their astonished looks. "But, by time we got there, Deidra and Tobi had already fled with the demon. I know what you're thinking 'How can they defeat a demon in the flesh?' Well, if someone were to have the Sanbi sealed inside of them, versus the Sanbi itself, the Jinchuuriki would win, because of the medium. The medium, or the person the demon is sealed in, serves as a home for the soul as well as a focus point. Sanbi was just mindless power; it had no way to wield its power effectively."

"About a year into our journey, we headed back to Fire Country. The very same town that Team 8 visited very recently." He looked at Hinata who blushed at this "When we arrived at the docks however, we town the town almost deserted. You know, empty streets, newspaper blowing across the road, the stuff you see in movies. Some of the restaurants were open and I was hungry so I went to see if they had a ramen shop."

"Ugh…I dunno how you can eat that stuff." Ino started "You know, I was walking through the village yesterday when I smelled…what THAT look for?" she yelled noticing the looks from everyone.

"Can I continue?" he said giving her a questioning look.

"You may." She stuck her chin out and shoo-ed him onwards.

"So, I was getting ramen, and I found Yamanashi Outei." He grinned as he saw the cook perk up at the name. "…As I'm sure you know. According to him, they were the top two cooks in Konoha quite a few years ago, until they had a cook-off." He beamed again "Of course, Baa-san won, and Yamanashi was forced to go to a new town to start where he would be appreciated, and would be on top. A lucky break for me, because at that point in time I REALLY needed some ramen to calm me down, because that was the night Jiraya died."

Everyone gasped at this. Of course they had known that Jiraya had died, but here they were actually going to be told how it had happened.

"a few days earlier; four to be exact. As usual, Jiraya told me what to do; showed me once, and left for the day to let me train and figure it out by myself. I decided to cut the night early because of chakra strain to my hands, because I was trying to master the one-handed Rasengan. I had decided to explore the new town we had just arrived in, and get some food. I went to the bars and brothels around town to see if Jiraya was there, like he normally was; but apparently he had gotten drunk a little earlier than usual and got into a brawl."

"I went to the police station to bail him out, but the officer that they had to hold him until the next day. So I came back the next morning to get him out, but we found him doubled over in pain, sweating like it was 120 outside." He looked up into and somewhat past the ceiling. They could see the tears in his eyes, held in check. "We went to the local hospital to see what was wrong. And they found something in his blood…"

"Poison." Sakura deadpanned.

He looked at her for a minute, and nodded. "Right, but one unlike anything they had ever seen. One of the nurses went to get a medical shinobi, but that didn't do any good. The Poison had already taken root in his organs, and had convinced his white blood cells that his own organs were invaders. His own body was killing itself. The doctor said he wouldn't last the night." He chuckled grimly "…tough bastard lasted four days." He closed his eyes and a tear finally leaked out of his eye. "Four days of mind-numbing pain. I even considered killing him on the second day, just so he wouldn't suffer." A few of them looked at him in shock, while other looked at him with sympathy. "But, I couldn't kill him; not my own sensei, the man who was the closest thing I had to a father since Iruka-sensei. I considered coming back to Konoha at this point, but Fate, had already decided otherwise."

"After I had finished my ramen-binge, I decided to go outside the town and train my sorrows off. Hopefully then I could forgot about it and just come back to me friends. That's when _they_ showed up. Kisame and Itachi."

Gasps shot through the listeners.

"To make a long story short, Kisame decided to 'take one of my legs'. So we fought, and he forced me out onto a lake. A bad choice on my part, but I was still young and stupid. He started to rant about how he had gotten the poison from a man named Sasori and had slipped it in Jiraya's water four days prior. I lost it…I… I…"

"Naruto, you can tell us," Sakura started "We all know, and none of us care."

He just stared at them, eyes wide and slack-jawed.

"So…?" Ino continued for him tapping him on the shoulder.

He looked at her and continued still shocked. "So, I lost it, and brought out more of _his _power than I ever had before. Apparently the Akatsuki had decided that Kisame was the one to attack him because he had the most chakra out of all of them; or so he gloated. Instead of one tail, like I had pulled out at the Valley of the End when I had fought Sasuke," he looked at her noting her stricken expression "I brought out three tails. That was more than enough to deal with him. With my training I had successfully brought out two tails and kept myself under control, but with three tails, the bloodlust of _him_ was too great. The only thing I could think of was to kill. I had to kill _something_. Be it Kisame, Itachi, or something else; I needed _Blood_, and nothing was going o stop me."

He was looking at the ground now his hands fisted on the counter. "We fought hand-to-hand, for a while, and Kisame had brought me successfully underwater where he sued his **Water Shark Missiles** to try to tear me apart. When I was underwater, all I could think about was the joy that fighting this man brought me. He was actually a challenge. It had been a while since I had fought someone that had challenged me. Subconsciously I knew that three tails was the right choice. Or maybe" he looked back into his ramen "just maybe I was beginning to lose myself in the power. Oh boy the power," he looked at them "you can't imagine what that felt like. When I was done, there was nothing but a crater of the lake that I was once submerged in. Itachi was gone, and I was sitting next to…well…nothing. I was covered in blood. Just soaked head to toe." He looked at his hands "these hands," his hands started to shake "I had decapitated Kisame, tore off his jaw, plucked out his eyeballs, and…and…" he started to get very pale. "I had eaten his brain."

By this time almost every one of them was even paler than he was, at least half of them had retched into the grass nearby. No one had even touched their food. Then Naruto himself had to retch into the grass. As he walked back to the stools and his comrades, a few older people walked by and gave him a look of disgust. No doubt, they knew who he was. With those whisker marks and blue eyes, they knew he was the demon.

"I had to leave, I had to get out of there. I never wanted to kill him, or do anything to him. I just wanted to be alone! WHY WON"T THEY EVER LEAVE ME ALONE!" He began fully sobbing into his hands."

"Naruto-san…" Lee started "…you have endured far more grief and anguish than anyone should ever have to experience in a hundred lifetimes. It's the fact that you come out of it so happy, caring about your friends more than you do yourself. You are not this demon; whatever you may have done under its influence, it was not you. You could never do that to anyone, even a hated enemy. You somehow always find a way to win over your enemy to change their ways. You changed Neji-san from his dogmatic view of destiny to take what he was given and make the best of it. You inspired me to get over my injuries sustained in the Chuunin Exams, and become a ninja again. You helped Hinata-chan get over her shyness. She's still shy, but she came out of her shell as well, and has gotten so much stronger since then."

"And you showed me it is alright to trust someone completely again. After Sasuke left, there was a hole in my heart that I thought only Sasuke could fill. I thought, 'Once Sasuke comes back, I'll ask him out on a date, and then we'll get married and have lots of children. I made you promise to bring him back, no matter what the cost, and you did. You promised me that, knowing that Sasuke wanted to, and probably would kill you. But, even if you died and Sasuke came back, I wouldn't have cared. Sure I might have missed you a little bit. But if you died I really wouldn't have _care_d. There was a hole in my heart and I was too blinded by Sasuke to realize that you were there standing next to me waiting to fill it and make it overflow."

It was Neji who spoke next: "You always wore that stupid smile on your face. I always thought you were just a bumbling fool who just barreled his way through whatever came his way. But then again, how could a fool beat the supposedly "Genin of the year". Then we fought, and I realized that you had a determination that was seeded far beyond the layers of your skin. It was in your very core. You wouldn't stop until you have accomplished whatever it was that you wanted in your view. You showed me that determination can possibly overcome natural talent. You along with Lee-san here." He motioned to the green-clad ninja almost vibrating in his seat.

"Your Flames of Youth cannot be extinguished. It'll take a force more mass-"

"Shut up."

"What?" everyone gave him an incredulous look.

"Just shut up with that kinda of talk. Haven't you guys ever noticed, all those smiles, every single one of them, were fake? Every time someone hurt me, I just stored in a corner of my mind, and blocked it off, flashing the huge grin that I always do:" he flashed his trademark toothy grin and scratched the back of his head "THEY BROKE ME! I BROKE WHEN JIRAYA DIED! I vowed never to let another person get close enough to me to hurt me. And I plan on keeping that promise. That's one promise I'm going to take to the grave. I guess the only reason I keep on going is because committing suicide just isn't my game. I'd much rather die on a battlefield." He sighed and got up from his stool and started to turn away from them. He took a step away, "And you call yourselves friends…yet you aren't even clued into someone enough to realize that they're suffering."

And with that, he left all of his comrades standing in a stunned silence, many on the verge of tears; realizing that the pillar of strength that had kept them going had no way to support itself. They realized just how selfish they were. Taking his strength and love and giving none back. Some realized that their friend was in need, silently crying out in desperation for someone to love him or at least to acknowledge him for him. Sakura finally broke down slumping back onto her stool, releasing the gates for the rest to let out their feelings of anguish.


	8. A Hidden Objective

"_Are you sure you want to do this? There's no coming back…once you go through with it."_

"_Yes. Everyone I get close to is doomed to a painful demise. I have no reason to live anymore. I only wait until my time comes, and try to make the most of it by caring for those I do cherish. For their sakes, I must protect them from a distance."_

"_You still have a heart. But that will soon change." The figure said with a hidden smile._

_-----------_

_Naruto walked down the long hallway, flanked by dark green robed figures with plain black rope belts. He knew what he was getting himself into. He was finally taking that big leap into the abyss. He sighed. It was too bad that he would never get to talk with his friends; to joke around, and have fun._

"_We're here." The figure on his left deadpanned._

"_Then let's do this."_

_------------_

"_Once you enter our world, you will never be allowed to leave alive" said the dark red robed figure. He was dressed much like the others, save for the color of his robe. "By even being here you are being given a great privilege and honor. Many would give their right arm to be in the presence of so many high ranking persons."_

"_Would you really let me leave here alive, if I decided to back down?" the silence was all he needed. "Then why ask me? Let's get this on with."_

"_Very well." He smiled under his hood." Please step into the seal." The red figure motioned. "There will be no seal placed on you, as normal, mainly due to the fact of the seal on your stomach. We have to idea how they would react with one another. This is mainly for tradition." Naruto stepped into the center of the seal that looked as if it had been carved into ground centuries ago._

"_You have been brought here to enter our brotherhood. As of this moment, including you, only nine know."_

"_Huh? But there are ten people in this room…" he said, stumped._

"_Observant, as always; but, as of your entry into our group, one in this room is already dead. YOU, must choose whom to fight; to the death."_

_-------------------_

Naruto's eyes opened to the stars. He had fallen asleep on the roof of his new apartment, one leg hanging off of the angled rooftop. He no longer had any nightmares about what he had done. In fact, they had become quite pleasant dreams. Not because of the atrocities he had committed, or what he had learned of the organization, but he saw it as a transformation of what he was destined to be. Not a self-proclaimed "Avenger", like Sasuke, but an ordained "Protector". And sometimes, to protect man, he must be protected by himself.

So it was time to read the sealed scroll he had carried with him in his shin guard. Not the decoy scroll on his belt that would either kill the opener or lead them into a clever and elaborate trap.

Sighing once again he bit his thumb and ran a blood streak over the seal on the scroll he pulled out from his shin guard. He hesitated feeling that same feeling he had gotten so many times in the past few days.

He chuckled to himself and put the scroll back; it could wait for another hour or so. "Did you come to stargaze with me? Or did you plan on Naruto-gazing. Whichever one, I didn't know you were into either, Ino."

She jumped up onto the roof where he was, smiling sheepishly. "How did you know it was me?"

"You're just like Hinata. You can hide your body well, but you're a mess at hiding your chakra signature." He turned his gaze back towards the heavens, his brow furrowed in thought.

She noticed this and said, "You know, sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours. The last time I saw you, you were this shrimpy little brat of a kid, and now, you seem all grown up. And you're only sixteen." She slightly blushed.

"Many people who talk to me seem to think that." He tapped his head and looked at her "But, you wouldn't want to be in there. Even I don't like to delve too deep within my memories, for fear of what I might find there." He gave her a questioning look "What are you REALLY doing here? You didn't just come to pry at my thoughts did you? Or do you have Shikamaru hiding around here as well, ready to do a **Shadow Bind** so you can successfully enter my mind?"

She looked down at the street below. It was only just night, many people were still out.

"No. Look, I know Lee made you upset a few days ago, and you, in turn, made us all upset." She turned her head to look straight into his eyes. "But please believe me when I say, that I never meant to hurt you. And I don't think anyone else meant to hurt you either. Though I can't speak for them," i Good Girl /i he thought, "I mean to say, that from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry. I'm sorry for not listening with all of my being when I knew you were suffering. I'm sorry for not helping you out when you needed me, someone, ANYONE the most. I hope you can forgive me." She turned to sit on the apex of the rooftop with both legs hanging over the side. She sat with her arms trembling at her side silently crying.

He sat up and twisted himself so he was seated next to her with am arm draped over her shoulders. "Look there's no need to cry. I'm actually surprised that you had gotten that reaction out of me." She looked at him with teary eyes. "For so long I had felt nothing. Even anger was a welcome addition to my emotion bank. I'm just glad to be back in Konoha." He softly smiled at her.

"I…Is that one real?" she sniffled.

"Why don't you decide?"

She threw herself into his arms sobbing into his shoulder. He could feel the dampness of her tears soaking his black t-shirt. "C'mon," he said to her scalp. She looked up at him longingly, "I'm hungry." She smiled up at him. "Is that real?" She nodded. "Good. Then let's go."

----------------------

The two walked down the street, not really heading towards anyplace; both just enjoying the company of someone else. Neither had said a word since they left the rooftop; neither had needed to say a word.

"So, where do you want to eat?" Ino asked.

"I really don't," she visibly dropped her shoulders an inch or two. "But, I thought someone was watching us, and now I've confirmed it. I don't know who it is, but I got a look at his mask.

"ANBU?"

"Worse." He replied

"Worse than ANBU?"

"Way worse. But he's of no threat to you. If you want to, meet me at that BBQ place that your team is always at." He smiled.

"No ramen?"

"How do you think I've grown this much? I haven't sworn it off altogether, but I eat other things too." He smiled again.

"Who ARE you?" he asked with mock fear.

"Someone who has to leave. Remember that BBQ place in one hour." He winked and disappeared with a swirl of leaves.

She sighed and slapped herself on the forehead.

----------------

Naruto stood side-by-side with the dark-green clad figure atop the roof and watched Ino walk off towards the BBQ restaurant.

"What are you doing here?"

"Keeping an eye on you; Number One wishes for me to tell you that you have two weeks to start the operation. He doesn't want to have to send anyone else."

"What operation?"

The figure turned to him, "Haven't you read the scroll yet?"

"I was about to, but then the woman…" he motioned to Ino's retreating figure, "…interrupted me; seems she was spying on me."

"Eliminate her; we can't have her following you."

Naruto chuckled "No. Don't presume to order me around, just because you're Number Six and I'm Number Nine. Remember I had to kill Number Three." He could feel the man shudder underneath his robe.

"Very well, but we still can't have her following you."

"She won't be. She just wanted to apologize for something she said a few days ago."

"Two weeks." And with that, the man disappeared.

Naruto looked back towards where Ino had turned the corner. "Looks like I'd better read that scroll soon."

--------------------

Ino sat in the booth that normally housed her and her three teammates, waiting for their food to arrive, or to be cooked. This time she was waiting for that blonde-haired, black-tipped ninja that had changed so much in so little time. _Oh Naruto, you've changed so much…_ she thought as she rested her head on her hands, looking out of the window towards the stars.

"Miss?"

Ino jumped and looked at the waitress who had been attending to her for the past twenty minutes. "Yes?"

The waitress looked at her a little piteously. "Are you sure he's coming?"

"Of course he's coming. He's never made a promise that he couldn't or wouldn't keep."

The lady sat down and put her hand on Ino's arm. "Look I've had many boyfriends stand me up too. You just have to learn to let them go."

"But…but…he's not my boyfriend!" she said, eyes wide. "But, I wouldn't mind it if he was…" she stated dreamy-eyed, with a slight blush. The blush increased as she saw Naruto walking towards the restaurant. She could tell something was bothering him.

Following Ino's eyes the lady saw identified Naruto. "Wow. He IS cute." She nudged Ino with her elbow "Good job. I'll be back in a minute."

Ino watched her leave towards the back, and then Naruto as he walked over to her and sat own across from her. He gave her a slight smile.

"I was beginning to doubt that you'd show up." Ino sated with a bit of relief.

"I've never made a promise that I couldn't keep. Save one."

"Oh?" she asked intrigued. "And which one was that?"

"It's private. I'd really rather not get into that right now." She cast her look down towards the table. "So! Let's get some food!" his face brightened considerably.

She laughed quite loudly "You really are unpredictable Naruto." Naruto started waving frantically in the air for the waitress to come over.

"How can I help you?" she asked cheerfully.

Naruto looked at Ino, "You're the regular here…"

She looked at the waitress, "We'll have the regular."

"For two?" the waitress asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me, we can handle it." Ino replied.

"Okay…" she rolled her eyes and walked away to give their order to the preparer.

Naruto watched her go then turned to Ino. "So? What now? Do we just spend the time staring into each other's eyes, whispering 'I love you more' to each other?" he said cheekily.

She simply replied, "You know, for someone who has really grown up you can still be childish."

"One does, what One can." He shrugged. "So, I told you what I did while I was gone. Now it's your turn."

"Wait, you didn't tell us all of it. You only went up to a year after you had left."

"Did I? Well, I'm afraid I i _really_ /i don't want to remember that. But, to ease your wonder, I found a sensei that was willing to train me, and make me stronger. And boy have they done that." He said fisting his hand and looking at it.

Her expression dropped. i Oh no, he's turning out just like Sasuke. I hope that he hasn't been driven mad my the power. /i

"…Now I can protect those who can't protect themselves." She smiled, i _There's the Naruto that I know._ /i "I've made a vow to protect My comrades from anything. I've had enough of people I care about dying around me, or being corrupted.

_YOU ARE A SHADOW…_

He shook his head at the thought and shuddered.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Ino asked with a concerned look on her face.

He smiled weakly, not connecting their eyes. "No-nothing is wrong."

"Naruto…" she put her hand on his, felling him jump at the flesh-to-flesh connection. "…I fell like I don't even know you anymore, but I do know that THAT smile was fake. There's OBVIOUSLY something wrong with you." Then it dawned on her. "Did you have to kill that man? Who was he?" he shook his head. "Then what? What's wrong? How can I help you if you're not going to let me?"

_THERE IS NO HESITATION…_

"I'm sorry. I can't let you into my heart." He pulled his hand out from under hers, and looked into her eyes "I can't let anyone into my heart. I can't stand to lose another loved one. I'm not strong enough."

_YOU ARE SWIFT, DEADLY, AND WITHOUT REMORSE…_

"Naruto… how can you claim to be able to protect someone when you don't truly love them? How can you claim to even HAVE comrades, if you don't love them? If you don't love them then how can they be comrades? I've even noticed that you never say the word 'friends' anymore. Do you even remember your friends? Do you remember what was like to be loved?"

_DO NOT FORGET YOUR MISSION, OUR MISSION…_

"I cannot be loved. I'm a walking corpse, a burning Explosive Tag. If you get too close, you go up in flames along with me. I won't let you, or anyone else have that happen to them. I have been destined to a life of loneliness. A cursed existence put into effect the day I was born, infused with the most savage beast ever to walk this world."

_YOU LEAVE FOR KONOHA IN TWO DAYS._

Her eyes narrowed, "Look, Baka, you have friends. You have people who love you. N matter how much you push us away, we'll just push right back. We aren't going to stop caring for you, just because you're throwing one huge pity party, so you can just stop right there. All of the villagers hate you because you're a Jinchuuriki. No, they hate you because they are stupid. They haven't taken the time to get to know you." Her eyes softened, "Don't you see? You have this strange effect on people. You give them hope, and make them WANT to believe in something. Tsunade-sama, Neji, and I'm sure if you put your mind to it, you could even turn Sasuke around."

His face darkened. "So that's your angle, huh? I guess I should have known better." He stood.

"W-wait…!"

"I'm sorry, I have to leave now. "

Before she knew it he was out of the door walking away. i. Naruto what the hell is wrong with you? I'm not gonna let you get away that easily… /i She ran out of the door after him.

When the finally caught up to him she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, surprised to see the streaks down his cheeks, and a scroll in his hand. So she did the only thing she could think of…


	9. A Friendly Battle

Naruto put his hand up to his check where Ino's was a second before. The stinging sensation was still there. He just stood there looking at her, shocked. He still couldn't believe that she did that.

"You make me sick." She said with a disgusted look. "Grow up, and face your problems like a proper Shinobi. If you weren't my friend I would rip that Hita-Ite right off of your head." She left him alone to think about what she said.

"Ino…" Naruto's hand left his cheek, the red mark long since gone. His gaze suddenly turned dark, "You're right."

-----------------------------

She had gone to this training ground often in his four year absence. It was the furthest grounds from the village, and so he used to be able to come here in peace. She often came here to think or sit in the tree she used to occupy to spy on him when he was either panting on his feet, or on the flat of his back. She used to think that she was inadequate; that he could never notice someone like her, but ever since he came back, he had actually _held_ her. She blushed and got all giggly at the thought. If only he'd do that one more time.

But she hadn't come here to reminisce about Naruto, she heeded his advice and spent the past few days training; trying to completely conceal her chakra presence. She had Sakura come try to find her in the forest in a beefed-up version of Hide and Seek. Apparently she had gotten good at it, because she stumbled upon Naruto, who hadn't noticed her yet.

He was dressed in his full battle gear. _This is weird… _she thought, _normally he's in a black t-shirt with those orange pants_. He sat there cross-legged, his fingers in the Tiger Seal Talking to himself. At least she thought he was talking to himself. She scanned the area with her Byakugan. Yes, he was all alone. _So who could he be talking to?_ _Maybe he's talking to _him_; I sort of hope that's the case. I hope he hasn't gone crazy in his time alone._

She couldn't make out the words by either reading his lips normally, or with her Byakugan, seeing as hers isn't as advanced as her cousin's, or even her sister's at this point. She moved closer, her curiosity overpowering her sense of self-preservation. _Naruto wouldn't hurt me. But, he doesn't know that it's me here. I should walk up to him in the open_.

She jumped down into the clearing. As she neared Naruto she could see his eyes were closed. She neared within about fifteen feet of him and she was just able to make out what he was saying.

"… When will you arrive?"

…

"You should come earlier. I might need you in the upcoming battle."

…

"I know I might be bale to hold my own against his lackey, but what if _he_ comes? I'm still not sure if I can beat him. I haven't fought a Shinobi of his caliber before."

…

He sighed "Very well. Is there anything else to report?"

…

"Number Three, eh? It's about time. Ok that's good to know." He smiled. "Then I'll have to exert my new authority and order you to send Number Seven. I might need her abilities soon in my mission. Since I'm still not perfect at sensing and dispelling Genjutsu…"

He disengaged whatever Jutsu he was using and relaxed, slumping back on the tree. "Yea, I may need her eyes for this one." He sighed. "Hm?" he opened one eye to rest on Hinata's figure. "Oh, it's you. I didn't think anyone came here."

"I do…"

He raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

She blushed, "I mean…uh….I came here because nobody uses it…and…I thought…nobody would be mean to me here when I…uh…messed up in my training." Her blush deepened.

His other eyebrow rose. "How long where you listening? What did you hear?" he tensed his fingers slightly curling into a ready position for a senbon to appear through them.

"Just something about not being good at Genjutsu." She lied.

He studied her for a moment, his eyes staring unwaveringly into hers. She could only blush at this, and he finally figured out why. He stood up and walked towards her. Her eyes widened and she started to visibly tremble until he finally soothed her with his voice "Come with me." he took her by the hand and led her to a large clearing.

_Where is he taking me? OHMY! He's holding my hand! Maybe not the way I want him to, or in the right circumstances, but he's still holding it! _She thought to herself.

It was a few minutes before Naruto let go of her hand. He motioned for her to stop, and he kept on walking away from her until he was a good twenty feet away from her. He turned and looked right at her eyes.

"Defend yourself. I want to see how far you've come along."

"Ano…"

"No talking, just fighting." He suddenly disappeared and she was thrown forward from a swift kick to the back. S_o fast. I can't even see him. Byakugan! _

She activated her Blood Limit so she could partially see him whizzing around the area. Se dropped into her Juuken stance and waited for him to come at her again. He did. He took up a stance right in front of her throwing punch after punch, none reaching her because of her natural flexibility. Luckily he hasn't done anything yet that warrants her to use her version of the **Kaiten**.

This exchange of blow after blow was starting to tire her out, and Naruto showed no sign of slowing. _I have to start closing tenketsu,_ She thought. "It's the only way." With a burst of chakra to her arms she slipped underneath Naruto's defense hitting him in each leg with a chakra drill effectively cutting off that chakra flow.

She jumped back a few feet to watch Naruto fall to his knees. "Oh no! I didn't hurt you did I? I'm sorry. I so sorry!" She yelled as she ran over to him.

------------------

Naruto held up his hand for her to stop. She could see his chakra flow increasing, slowly forcing the tenketsu open again. He could feel the red chakra oozing out of him. He hated having to resort to using his chakra. But this could not be helped.

"Don't worry about it." He said seeing her on the verge of tears. "See?" he jumped up and down a few times. "You can't hurt me for too long." She flung herself onto him almost knocking him onto the ground. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry. I don't ever want to have to fight you again. I couldn't stand the thought of hurting you." She bawled. Something inside him lurched, knowing what was coming up.

_WITHOUT REMORSE…_

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "Don't worry, you won't have to fight me." he lied, rubbing her back slightly. But, he hoped that was true. _I don't think I could kill her._ Slowly her sobs quieted down until she was sniffleling into his shoulder.

Realization of what she said hit him and he laughed. Not a loud howling laughter, but a little more than a chuckle. However, with her buried into his chest she could hear anything he said. She looked up at him with teary eyes. He lowered her to her knees and he sat a foot away from her. "You? Hurt me? I let you hit my knees there. You'd never get a hit if I didn't let you."

"You're right, I'm nothing, there's now ay that I could hit you. I knew you were holding back…"

"Ok that didn't work…" he said to himself scratching his head.

"What didn't work?"

"Well…you have no confidence. I was trying to taunt you into fighting me again, but apparently you have a serious lack of confidence. Why don't you believe in yourself?"

"Ano…I don't know." she looked towards the ground.

"I'll tell you why," She looked up "Because you're the Hyuuga heir. You've had this huge weight thrust upon your shoulders, bearing down on you all your life, and you, to tell the truth, really don't have the ability to hold up to it." He smiled, "I know you're in love with someone, and you'll never gain his respect, or admiration if you don't believe in yourself. I'll be t you anything he believes in himself, so why can't you? He'll never respect you if you don't learn to believe in yourself."

She sighed and stood up dropping into the Juuken stance once more. "Good girl…" he stood up and took up a position opposite from her. He studied her, the way she carried herself, compared to last time. Her face muscles weren't twitching, her gaze was steady; straight into his. "I'll make you a deal. You draw blood, and you get one favor." He held up a finger. "If you win, you get two favors." He held up another finger in addition. "Deal?"

She nodded, with a smirk on her face.

"Confident in your abilities eh?"

She nodded again.

"Good, then let's get started."

------------------

Naruto disappeared again and she ducked under his foot that was meant for the side of her head. She stuck out her leg in a sweeping motion but he leaped over it and her at the same time. He landed in front of her swinging. Throwing punches left and right, much faster than he was earlier. She deftly blocked and swung each arm away from her, keeping her feet planted. Suddenly a fist came out of nowhere and collided with her gut.

"Lesson number one: Mobility. Juuken is nice, but what can it do against an enemy who could just as easily dance around you? I watched your fight with Neji at the Chuunin exams so long ago. Your center of gravity is too low. That's why you couldn't dodge my blow. Again"

He came back upon striking with more ferocity than before. This was it, she had to use it. She threw a punch with all of her might, banking on Naruto blocking it. He did, and her chakra charged fist pushed him back a few feet. She pushed chakra into her arms and out through her palms performing her **Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō(Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms).** Pushing her chakra out farther she began to swing her arms about. Faster,faster; Naruto came back hat her chakra sheilding his hands in a red sheath.

She saw his red hands, but that didn't worry her. They traded blows for a few minutes, blocking chakra with chakra. Red with Blue. She watched him carefully through the weaving of her arms and his. _There, that's it. _She saw him hesitate for just a second, as a memory flashed behind his eyes. Sticking one beam of chakra out just a little farther the made a clean slice through his left cheek.

He jumped back, but she wasn't about to let up just yet. She didn't want to kill him, she just wanted to show him how strong she really WAS. His eyes widend as he saw her come forward. He formed the **Rasengan **in his hand while still in the air. She saw it just in time to stop herself as he thrust it into the ground causeing a massive explosion sending all manner of rocks and large chunks of earth everywhere and leaving a small crater about fifty feet in diameter. Seals flashed through his hands at a rapid rate calling out "**Suiton: Bakusui** **Shōha(Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave)!**"He spit out a large amount of water into the crater, filling it to the brim with him standing atop. "Nowhere near as powerful as Kisame's, but I don't have it completley mastered yet."

_I can't attack him the__re. He must have an affinity with water, if I attack him there then I'll be at a disadvantage. But there!, he's sweating. _

"If you're not coming here, then I'm coming to you!" he called out. She could barely dodge his punch much less the knee to her stomach a milisecond later. She hit the ground with a thud. Pain wracked through her body as she tried to get up. _Get up. GET UP! _ she screamed to herself. She stood shakily, her knees barely suppoerting her body. She knew he could see this. She knew, that he knew that she was almost at her limit.

"So be it. Looks like you aren't stronger than I after all. Then I'll have to finish this." He ran up to her stopping a few feet from her. He was standing in a half-crouched position.His left hand low and to the floor his right arm back up behind him, the hand palm-up towards the sky.

She stared at him. "But, you can't do that. You can't see the tenketsu!"

"I don't aim for those." He said with a smile. "Don't worry I won't kill you. You still get one favor." He said with a smile.

She dropped in a stance to mirror his.

"**Fūton****: Kaze no Rokujūyon Hira(Wind release: 64 Hands of Wind)!**

" **Hakke Rokujūyon Shō(****Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!**"

Both of their attacks collided. However, Naruto was frozen after his first hit, which she blocked with one of her strikes. During his absence she had finally gotten her Byakugan to the point of where his tenketsu finally came into focus.

_I closed them, but I have to work fast, because he can re-open them. _Her thoughts went to his fight with Neji. She remembered watching him get up sending out massive waves of chakra, forcing them open again. "You really are amazing Naruto-kun, but you underestimated me." she said to him as he fell to his knees.

"Then that's two I owe you" he smiled weakly. "I underestimated you, forgot that I can't move when I'm within range of your Divination. I guess it's lights out for me, huh?"

She nodded weakly; putting her hand on the back of his neck, pushing chakra into it effectively knocking him into unconsciousness. She smiled again, "You fought well…my Naruto-kun." And then she collapsed to the ground next to him, exhausted.

She drifted off, going over the fight in her mind as she slumbered away. She thought about him holding her earlier that night, and about the match. And even more importantly what she was going to have him do. Suddenly, the dirty thoughts ran their usual course through her slumber as they did almost every night for the past few days that Naruto had been back. She was glad that they had returned. It meant that the ones of him dying in gruesome and horrible ways had left her mind completely.

She softly let herself be led into the land of dreams, waiting for the next day when they would wake up, and start anew.


	10. A Mission Begins

Naruto was at Ichiraku's eating his 3rd bowl of ramen, thinking about how he had lost to Hinata, and what she was going to make him do. He was a man of his word so he would HAVE to do whatever she wanted. He sighed, "I hope it's not something dirty…nah, she doesn't have a dirty mind. There's no way she would ask me to do something like that. She probably doesn't even like me like that." He frowned. He had a visitor.

A man in his seventies came up and sat down a few stools away from him. "Having girl troubles?"

Naruto gave him a suspicious glance. "No, I don't have a girl here."

"That's weird; I saw you and that blue-haired girl walking into the village together; so how do you explain that?"

"Easy. I was outside the walls last night, and she happened upon me, so we decided on a friendly little match."

"Friendly you say? I hope you didn't lose to a girl." The man said with somewhat of a sneer. He ordered his food from Teuchi.

"Actually, I severely underestimated her. Before I left the village a few years ago, she was nothing, hardly even anything to notice, but last night she was a force to be reckoned with. She may not know anywhere near as many jutsu as I do, but she sure is strong. AND she's a Hyuuga."

"A Hyuuga you say? You're not trying to atone for your failures with a name-drop are you?"

"No. Like I said, I severely underestimated her." He looked down at the counter incredulously, "Why am I even telling you this? I don't know you. Maybe it's because you look like a good person." He looked at the man again "Someone I might know?"

"I doubt it. If you did, someone, somewhere would be in a whole heap of trouble. Not to mention yourself. I only have a few people who know me, and even fewer friends." The man got his food and started to slowly eat it.

Naruto looked at him, and sighed "If you would have come to me a few years ago, I wouldn't have taken a second thought at saying 'I'll be your friend', but nowadays I'm not sure I can be anyone's friend."

"Oh? And why is that?" he stopped with his chopsticks holding a piece of food halfway to his mouth and looked at Naruto.

"Because…because, I am a walking corpse; waiting for my time to come. I have a purpose, but it isn't what it once used to be. I used to dream of being Hokage, but now I just want to protect those who once cared for me. There are forces out to destroy this village. But, it isn't that easy. Oh, I could probably kill his poster-boy, yes, of that I'm certain. With a friend's help, I could probably kill the head of this village's enemy, but that's a bad idea."

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me…"

"It's the natural cycle of things. Teachers are destined to be surpassed by their students, just as the new generation must surpass the old. We get stronger and stronger with each generation, until eventually someone comes along with the power to destroy entire cities, create valleys with the easiest of effort, and even raze mountains to the ground. So why not keep him alive? Let him be the 'bad guy', but keep him alive, yet strong enough, to discourage other 'bad guys' from coming into power. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

"I think so., but why not just kill him outright? If he's such a bad guy, then why shouldn't he be able to enlist the help of those that you would also consider enemies? Then you would have two enemies."

Naruto scratched his head, pondering this man's words. "How did you get so smart?"

"Experience. Years, and years of living on this world have taught me that, even if there is evil, no matter how grave the threat, someone is always there to destroy it. You're village is in a war right now right?"

"Yea…"

"Then think, if your village had been at war for…I don't know…fifty years; and someone had the power to stop the leader of your enemies, don't you think that they should do it? Even give their life for those they love?" Naruto opened his mouth, but was silenced by a hand, "Don't you think, that the few years of peace between wars is worth it? It's a paradox. Wars may be started over wealth, power, ego, women, or land; but they always keep getting fought for peace. You're a shinobi, you fight for peace. Is that such a good thing? We don't live in a utopia, where the food is plentiful, and everyone is nice to each other."

"What's your point?"

"You say that you want to keep this man alive, but you're wrong. You must fight for as long as you can. It's those years of peace in between that we wish to live for. Wouldn't you like to stop risking your life everyday, and settle down with someone.;, get fat and lazy and die in peace with your wife and son at your side?" the man pushed his empty bowl towards the cook and gave him a nod of satisfaction.

"That's the dream…"

"But not yours…."

"No." Naruto deadpanned

"Then you may not belong here. You belong where there's always war, somewhere where your services will be needed everyday. But, when you're dead on some battlefield, you'll only be known as 'that mercenary who didn't believe in anything, even himself' versus…what was your name again?"

"Naruto."

"You'll be known as 'Naruto, the great man who defended those who could not defend themselves, who believed in honor and peace, and gave justice to those who deserved it'."

Naruto smiled, "You have a way with words."

"So I've been told." The man patted his belly "Man, that hit the spot!" he paid his bill and walked out of the booth leaving Naruto to his thoughts when he turned around suddenly halfway leaning in the flaps. "Oh Naruto!"

"Hm?" he turned around.

"I had some canaries that died last week; do you know where I can find more?"

Naruto just shook his head when realization hit him. "Did you have others?"

The man nodded. "Nine. Of which, Seven died,"

Naruto looked down at the ground, "That's too bad. I don't know of anyone who sells canaries in the town, but I'll look for some." He nodded to the man.

"Thank you. Since you know the village, I'm sure you would be a better candidate to search than I would." He smiled

"I'll start looking right away." He watched the man's retreating feet through the space below the flaps.

"Seven dead canaries, eh? Must've caught a disease or something." The cook pondered out loud.

"Well he didn't say they've flown the coop, so that's what must've happened…" _A way with words is an understatement. You could convince a fish to jump onto the riverbank and try to breathe air. That must be why you're Number Two. So who to replace her with…I guess it would be only right, to replace a Hyuuga with another Hyuuga._ He smiled, _No way Neji would do it, so that leaves one person, maybe two. So I guess the Robins must be my code from now on. I could get used to that._ "Better than Yamanashi's." Naruto stated as he stood up and paid the cook.

"Only the best, for The Best." Replied the cook.

Naruto gave him one of his trademark grins and left in a hurry.

"Wonder where he's going off to in such a hurry."

"Father!!" yelled Ayame, his daughter from the back.

"What is it Sweetie?"

"I have to leave town for a few days with a friend. But you'll have Matsu and Nishi to help you out ok?"

"Wha-WHAT? No! You can't leave!" He yelled as he went into the back. "Please don't leave me with those two…"

----------------------------------

Naruto walked the streets of Konoha with his newfound knowledge. _Something must have gone horribly wrong for Number Two to be shadowing me. Or, maybe they just don't trust me being here with all these past and painful memories._ He thought, passing yet another group of villagers giving him a fearful gaze.

He was walking around in his casual wear. Orange pants with a black t-shirt with the symbol for the Leaf sewn on the back. Though he still gave off an impressive aura, he looked nowhere near as intimidating as when in his full battle attire.

"It's still incomplete though." He pondered aloud. "I still need some sort of breastplate."

He tapped his almost naked chest. His thoughts were interrupted by an ANBU messenger.

"Sir, Hokage-sama wishes to see you. I think it's about a mission."

"Ugh, she said that I had two weeks…" he grumbled.

"I just deliver the message. She also said to promise you 'A' bowl of ramen."

Naruto's eyes lit up, "Oh, well I can't refuse now!"

The messenger disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving a small slip of paper to float gently down into Naruto's hands.

"I must be harder to find than I thought." He said aloud reading the slip of paper. "Hmph, even though I still have half an hour I guess I might as well head on over there." He turned the nearby corner and started to make his way lazily towards the Hokage Tower.

---------------------

"…about time you showed up…" Tsunade heard from the anterior room.

"…well you see…" she heard the muffled reply.

"Don't worry about excuses, just get in there." Shizune commanded as she opened the door.

Naruto walked in the door noticing everyone in the room: Shino, Hinata, Kiba, and a very asleep-looking Shikamaru. His shoulders slumped. He thought he was going to get a good mission, but with the people here, it would likely be a B or C-rank.

"You're late Naruto…" Tsunade started.

"Well you see, I was on my way here, when three cats ran by me down the street, and so I had to find out where three cats were going together so I followed-"he said matter-of-factly, taking a leaf out of Kakashi's book.

"Troublesome."

"Enough; look Naruto, I'm sending you on a mission with these four. Don't look so depressed, I know I said two weeks, but these people need your strength."

"He's still just a Genin…" Kiba grumbled off to the side.

"And he's also killed one of the Akatsuki. Have YOU killed any recently?"

"Hmph." He spat.

"As I was saying, this is an A-rank mission. A local princess is to be married to a foreign prince in a political marriage. Some families see this as a potential threat, what with two powerful families merging. So, you can expect to be attacked, quite probably from enemy or even domestic ninja. If you are attacked by ninja openly wearing their Leaf Headbands, then do your best to just incapacitate them, and bring their bodies back here immediately. Shikamaru will be team leader on this one.

"Great…" he said sarcastically.

Tsunade handed him the mission details and they all turned and left the room. They started walking down the hallway, but stopped when Shikamaru turned to address them.

"Ok, here's the deal. You have one hour to get your things ready, and meet at the main gate. From what I've heard about this princess we're supposed to protect, she is very…needy." He injected as much venom as he could into the word. "So, I would pack expecting her not to give us anything. We'll be meeting them a few miles north of here, and we'll be heading to Water country."

"You might want to bring rain gear. I can smell water. The air is saturated with it." Kiba added.

"Good job; then we're to meet in one hour at the main gate. Questions?" he waited a few seconds, "Okay then, dismissed."

-----------------------

Half an hour later, Naruto was at the front gates reading a new book the he had bought earlier that day.

"Ano…w-what are you r-reading, Naruto-Kun?"

He didn't even need to look up to know who was addressing him, but did so anyway out of courtesy.

"It's called **The Art of Chess**, (Yes I'm going to use Western Chess for this because I don't know eastern enough to use it.) I saw it in a bookstore, and I felt compelled to buy it." He smiled, "It's funny, I just finished a section that defines each piece and its general use. It said' '…people who are passionate about the game, usually find themselves associating their own fighting styles to that of one of the pieces.'"

He looked at her for a minute until she started to squirm under his intense gaze. "Ah, yes, I know exactly what you are." His smile grew even wider, as he turned to the page he had thought of and began to read aloud to her. "'The Rook, though off to the side initially, is a majestic piece, symbolizing a turret, a pillar of strength. In the days of old, a few well-built turrets, so easily dissuade attacking armies from trying to breach its walls. Though seemingly pushed to the side initially, it is undoubtedly strong; able to switch with the King at a whim. It is also one of the most desired defensive, as well as offensive pieces, able to cover an entire column to either trap an enemy piece, or prevent a trap from being sprung." He looked straight into her eyes reading the net bit from memory, "However simple its design, it is a piece symbolizing the Strength of Will, often playing key roles in the capture of enemy Kings.' Without a doubt one of my favorite pieces." He smiled again.

She blushed, noticing his obvious praise. "Ano…which piece are you?"

He chuckled to himself. "If you find that out I'll owe you THREE favors. I don't even know that myself. Though I don't think that one can accurately make that assumption by and for themselves. I think that's left up to that person's comrades and friends.

She simply smiled and nodded, poking her two index fingers together, to which he found himself surprisingly liking that little habit.

A few minutes passed by in a comfortable silence, each person waiting for the others, but at peace sharing the same bench with a person they admire (to different degrees of course).

Some time later, under an ever darkening sky, one Genin, four Chuunin, and a nin-dog, left the front gates toward their rendezvous point with the princess and her guard. They were dressed in their rain cloaks, and strode out from the gates each hoping that they would make it out of the upcoming mission.


	11. A Surprise Entrance

The group of ninja were walking along the path, each lost in their own thoughts, save for Shikamaru and Kiba, who were talking back and forth about Kiba's latest involvement with "troublesome" women. Shino walked along silently behind them. Every once in a while he would be greeted by one of his bugs, who were busily scouting the area ahead for any signs of the caravan, or enemies. Naruto plodded along, hands in his pockets, thinking about the past few days. He was tailed by a very irate-looking Akamaru, who, in order to vent his frustrations, began to trot around the group taking passing snaps at butterflies who were lazily flying about. This prompted giggles from the final member of the mixed squad, Hinata. She spent most of her time blushing slightly, and staring at the back of Naruto's head. Every once in a while, she would activate her Byakugan and scan the surrounding area.

"There's a stream up ahead." called Hinata.

Shikamaru looked at her, and she nodded to him. "Then we'll set up camp off to the side." He indicated off to the right with a hand motion.

----------------

Naruto had finished gathering the firewood he was told to get and started back towards the camp. The sun wasn't too close to setting yet, so he could afford to nap for an hour or so. He dropped the bundle of logs to the ground and took place up against a tree a few feet away. Within a few minutes, the thoughts in his head quieted down to a dull roar, and sleep overtook him.

-----------------

Naruto awoke to the sound of scratching. It was coming from a bush behind him. One second and two spent Kunai later, a field mouse scurried past him into the clearing. He had a front row ticket to a battle; or, to put it in better context, a slaughter.

CLICK! CLICK! Two ants were gone. Another few clicks, another few ants swallowed. Naruto watched silently as a few more field mice appeared and engaged in the same activity. _Probably brothers and sisters_ … Naruto thought.

Some minutes later, the ant trail had all but disappeared, and the engorged mice sauntered off into the grass, save one. It was slightly thinner, and had one eye missing. It caught the few remaining stragglers with ease, but was halted by a sudden sound. Naruto heard it. A wasp flew lazily into view. On such a warm day, such a wasp would be helping chew wood into paper for its nest, but this wasp didn't want wood. It wanted the mouse.

Within the tiny, yet very sensitive ears, the mouse could clearly hear the wasp hovering a few inches away. It leapt, gnashing its teeth together, hoping to taste the succulent wasp meat. But, its hopes were dashed against a rock as the wasp nimbly dodged it. Sensing the wasp coming in for an attack, the mouse skipped a pace away, barely missing the barb coming within millimeters of its fur. This duet lasted for several minutes, before the mouse, hungry and out of energy from emaciation, couldn't dodge quickly enough. The wasp landed upon the mouse; gripping its fur tightly, it thrusted its spike into the mouse's back. A tiny squeak of pain later, the wasp detached itself and flew off.

However it did not get far. It was met in midair with a large beetle. And then another, and another. Then ten, and another ten, until the wasp disappeared inside a veritable swarm of beetles, as did the mouse. The beetles receded, leaving an empty husk of a wasp, and a tiny, eviscerated mouse.

Naruto knew those bugs preceded Shino, and waited for him to make his entry.

"Despicable creature..." Shino stepped into view on Naruto's right. "That certain type of wasp doesn't carry a stinger with poison. Instead, it lands on its victim, usually societal animals, and injects them with eggs. The mouse, thinking its been injured goes back to its burrow to lick its wounds, unknowingly bringing a payload of death." He scooped out a trough of dirt with his hands. "The initial host usually dies within three to four days." He placed the mouse in the trench and buried it. "But, not before being torn open and the parasites to find a new body to invade, until they have grown into adult wasps, usually killing around a dozen creatures apiece.

"Using that poor beast to unknowingly corrupt and destroy its brother and sisters…" Naruto said to no one in particular. He looked up at Shino, and then rose to his feet. He picked up the firewood, noticing the sky had grown much darker. "Thank you Shino…" he said, shifting the bundle in his arms and strolled off towards their camp.

--------------------

Naruto entered the clearing where his comrades sat, waiting for him. He dropped the wood next to the already going fire. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Naruto uninjured.

"About time…" Kiba huffed.

"I…had a lot to think about." Naruto answered their unasked questions, "Shino gave me even more to think about." He looked at them with sullen eyes. "I'm sorry if I worried you." He sat down looking straight into the fire as if it held every answer to every question he had.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, as long as you're okay." She blushed and put a caring hand on his shoulder.

He halfway turned to her and smiled, causing one of Shikamaru's eyebrows to rise.

"I'm going to bed." Naruto stood up.

Everyone looked at him as if he just said he could fly.

"Without dinner?" Kiba asked.

He paused for a moment while opening the tent flap. "I lost my appetite back in the forest." And then he disappeared.

They looked at each other speechless, and then to Shino as he walked into sight as if nothing were wrong. "What did you DO to him?" Kiba asked.

"I found him watching a couple of animals fight." Shino sat down, and related to them what had happened, unaware of the silent tears falling out of Naruto's eyes ten feet away.

------------------

Naruto awoke to blackness. He tried to pull his eyes open, but all the crying the night before had left the salt in his tears to dry his eyelashes together. He channeled chakra into his ears, making them more sensitive than before. He could hear the two humans and one dog sleeping beside him. He sat up, but this movement caused Kiba to shift and Akamaru to raise his head and look at him.

"Sssh…" he put a finger to his lips, "I'm going to the stream to wash my face." He whispered to the dog.

Akamaru put his head back down and Naruto stole out of the tent. Slowly and silently, he made his way to the gurgling off to his right. He used the sound of the stream to navigate and maneuver his way in between the trees, causing a flashback:

**"_Doton: _****_T_****_suchi _****_A_****_yatsuri no jutsu (Earth Release: Earth Manipulation Jutsu)"_**

_Naruto covered his eyes with a bandana as Takashi positioned himself on the far side of the maze of earthen posts he had just created. _

"_Follow the sound of my voice…"_

_Naruto concentrated, cocking his head to one side, so that his ear was towards his teacher. He smacked into the first pole. Rubbing his ear, he tried again with the same result._

"_Picture in your mind, as if you were using your sight…"_

_Naruto tried to forma a picture in his mind. Another pole met his temple._

_Takashi sighed, "If you can't do it normally, then channel chakra into your ears."_

_Naruto funneled chakra into his ears. After the initial burning sensation of pushing chakra through passageways that had not been built up yet had passed, he suddenly got a picture in his mind. Black posts on a green background. He decided that the black posts, were the earthen ones. He slowly weaved his way in and out of them._

"_You're getting it." Takashi said, the sound making everything in Naruto's mind become a crisp and clear image. When his voice died away, so did the picture somewhat; it became blurry and distorted. Resorting to the background noise, and focusing on it, he was able to get a better image. Arriving in the center of the maze, he found out that he couldn't "see" much of anything anymore. The posts had absorbed most of the sound. The only thing he could "see", was the tops._ I'll just walk across the top._ he had thought to himself. With that thought Naruto leaded up and gracefully landed atop one of the posts. Within thirty second he was on the ground, taking off his bandana, and looking at a smiling Takashi. _

"_That's enough for now. You are a quick learner. You didn't completely finish the exercise, but you got to the end in half the time it usually takes my students."_

"_Hey! Who were your other students!!!!????" yelled Naruto, eager to hear of his teachers exploits. However Takashi's face became stone and he walked away silently._

_It was that night that Takashi had shown Naruto the scratched Hita-Ite. It was that night when Takashi had told the story of his pupils, and how he had once been a Jounin teacher for the Village Hidden in the Mist. It was that night that he told Naruto of his pupil, and of __Zabuza_

So Naruto walked, his chakra-charged ears picking up anything and everything. Within five minutes he was at the stream. He located it very easily, seeing as how it made a lot of noise. So much so, that he had to shut off his extra hearing, and use his normal hearing. He squatted down, splashing water onto his face and rubbing it into his eyes, trying to dissolve the salt that glued them together. Slowly he wedged his eyes open.

As the world finally came into focus, he looked in the water at his reflection. He saw bags under his eyes. Those eyes that looked almost nothing like the ones that were once shining with his…"passion of youth…" That's when he noticed something strange. Peering deeper into the water, he saw something circling him high up in the air. "Hm…?" he turned his head around and craned his next to look up. Sure enough there was a very large white bird circling above him. He squinted, barely able to see it in the morning light. Then he noticed something else odd. He was not alone. He slowly turned his head and eyes to lock onto those of his pale-eyed teammate.

She sat there in the stream, trying to cover "herself" up, with her arms covering up as much as possible, and her body sinking as low into the water as she could. But, she started wide-eyed at Naruto, red as can be, and shaking so much she was cause the water to ripple around her.

--------------

Naruto's mind stopped. All the tiny Narutos suddenly dropped their boxes and stared up at the screen of what Naruto was actually seeing. The stood, eyes wide and mouth agape, until finally one had the sense to run to his "Fight or Flight" controls, and mashed the "Flight" button.

They were frozen in the place for a good thirty seconds, silently staring at each other. Naruto finally stammered out a shaky "Sorry…" ad then disappeared in a plume of dust.

---------------

Hinata's brain was in overload as well. After Naruto left she blacked out, only to wake a second later when her head hit the water.

"N-N-N-N-Narut-t-t-t-t…." she couldn't even finish his name.

Somewhere in the back of her mind a small Brave Hinata was whooping for joy. However, the large Shy Hinata just pushed her into a locked closet, and continued to stare out of Hinata's eyes.

It was a good ten minutes before she got out of the stream; of course using her Byakugan to keep a lookout for anyone coming near.

She arrived back at camp with everyone sitting around the embers, eating breakfast. Kiba and Akamaru were talking and yipping back and forth, completely oblivious to what had transpired a few minutes ago. Shikamaru laid on his back shoving food into his mouth while watching the clouds roll on by. Shino just sat there, sunglasses always staring forward. And then Naruto, with an almost full plate of food next to him, was staring into the fire as he had been doing lately for the past few days.

She grabbed some of her food, and sat a few feet away from Naruto. If he knew she was there, he was doing a great job of hiding it. The tension was so thick; one could cut it with a Kunai.

Finally after a breakfast of silence they packed their stuff and left northward again. Neither of the two even made eye contact for the rest of the day.

---------------

It was late in the evening a few days later, when they came upon a large gathering.

"What the hell is this, her entire village?" Kiba yelled.

"Halt! Stand and be recognized!"

Taking the role of foreign dignitary, Shikamaru took a step forward. "Greetings. My name is Nara Shikamaru." He indicated himself, and then his comrades, "These are my comrades, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru, and Aburame Shino." He handed the guard their official mission document.

After giving the mission document a good once over, and then a curt nod, they headed into the large camp. "Get settled in; then come find me, and I'll take you to the princess's quarters."

-------------------

They entered the monster of a tent in which the princess lived, and gaped in awe. All manner of blue, green, and gold, festooned the walls. There had to be about twenty people; servants and guards, and then a white curtain; behind which sat the princess. There was a long table off to one side, with dozens of dishes and drinks. Akamaru and Kiba were already drooling and ogling at the food.

"These are the Konoha Shinobi your father hired to protect you princess."

"Hmph…" came a tiny voice from the other side of the curtain. "…A waste of my time and money, if you ask me. I already have dozens of guards and servants at my beck and call."

Shikamaru could see Naruto seething next to him, glaring at her silhouette and clenching and unclenching his fists. _Easy Naruto_ he thought to himself.

"So much food…." Kiba whispered to himself as he and Akamaru both licked their chops in unison.

"Don't touch any of that! That's MY food!"

"All of it…?" Kiba whined

"Of course not, what do you think I am, fat? Whatever I don't eat will be thrown away." Akamaru whined and his tail drooped low. "You may leave." The silhouette waved them off.

Shikamaru heard a low growl being issued from his right, but not from Akamaru. He looked over to see a seething Naruto. The red wisps of chakra were already starting to roll off of him, and his eyes had turned as red as they can get, at least until Hinata had sensed this too and put a hand on his arm and said his name softly. He looked at her, the redness fading; he stomped out of the tent leaving his teammates and a dozen guards sweating quite profusely. It was understandable. The older ones were in Konoha when Kyuubi attacked, and the ones who could sense chakra, knew this certain chakra. A few sank to their knees as they felt the chakra recede, thanking whatever gods they worshipped. Even the princess could feel the pressure in the back of her mind, untrained as she is. Shikamaru even saw Shino's eye twitch a few times.

"You don't understand how lucky you are that we're here to protect you. You don't have to like us," Kiba walked up the step to the curtain, ignoring the pleas of the guards, he ripped it down, revealing a stunningly beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl behind it, "…but, you sure as hell are going to respect us." He spat out.

She nodded dumbly, and they exited the tent.

------------

When they got to the two tents, they saw Naruto's battle gear lying in a neat pile next to the fire with his Hitai-Ite displayed openly on top.

"I'll go find him." Shino offered.

Shikamaru nodded, "Then we'll eat and go to sleep."

Hinata set up her things inside her tent worrying about Naruto.

------------

Naruto wandered through the camp blowing off some stem. He knew he was extremely close to losing it on her. He wasn't close to completely losing like he had twice with Takashi, but he sure as hell would have given her a large piece of his mind.

He was walking until he came upon a semi-circle of all sorts of cages. But what drew him, was the largest cage off to the left. He slowly walked up to it his eyes locked with the snow-white tiger's. All at once he could feel all of the sadness and loneliness that the tiger had felt all of its life.

"Hey! You'd better be careful!" a man yelled to him as he jogged up. He motioned to the tiger with an iron rod, "He'll take your face clean off if ye give him the chance." He turned his attention to the tiger, "Hey! You weren't buggin' this guy were ye?" he raked the bars with the rod in his hand. "Mangy beast…" he raised his arm back, only to have his wrist engulfed by Naruto's hand. Naruto applied a little pressure and snapped the man's wrist.

The man yelled, a stream of curse words leaving his mouth, "What did ye do that for?" he cried as he cradled his arm. A crowd had started to gather.

Naruto didn't even look at him. He just stared directly at the tiger's eyes. "You had better get that looked at. Go to my tent, you'll find a blue-haired girl. Tell her _everything_ that happened, and she'll fix your arm." He approached the bars putting his hands around them.

"W-what are you doing?" the man yelled hysterically.

Naruto ignored him. He was spellbound by those eyes; he bended the bars outward creating a hole for the tiger to exit out of. People were staring wide-eyed at this strange man for two reasons: he was bending steel bars with naught but his hands; and he was freeing some strange animal; a deadly one."

"I know this isn't your home, but go; be free." He said softly to the tiger, who growled softly in return and trotted off into the trees.

"I will not stand for this!" the man cried out.

Naruto lowered his head until his nose was almost touching the man's. He glared straight into the beady eyes, "I don't think that you're in a position to stop me. You had better hope we don't cross paths again; as far as I'm concerned, you're lower than pond scum."

Naruto left and stalked back to the dual tents, and sat down on his mat, which was rolled up and waiting for him to use it. Hinata looked at him, "Naruto-kun…I think…we have to…talk."

He looked at her with pained eyes, "Please, not tonight. Can we talk tomorrow?"

She half-sighed, half-smiled, "Of course."

Naruto thanked her and went into his tent. Using the roll as a pillow, he fell asleep instantly.

----------------------

Morning came too early. By the time Naruto awoke, most of the camp was lined up in the caravan. Within the hour, everyone was ready to leave.

Hinata up front, Naruto a few yards back, Shikamaru behind him, Shino, and then Kiba and Akamaru bringing up the rear.

Around noon they took a break, bringing the caravan to a halt. Since Hinata was up front scanning with her Byakugan for traps and enemies, Naruto had to go up to see her.

He found her around a bend about fifty yards ahead of the caravan.

"You know, you shouldn't be alone like this." She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Ano…I'm sorry…"

He shook his head, "Don't be. You were right last night we DO need to talk. About earlier that day, and about yesterday morning."

She blushed at the mention of the incident, "You're right, I should have told someone I was going to take a bath. It was just so early, I thought no one would be awake."

"I probably wouldn't have if I hadn't…hadn't been crying the night before." He looked off into he forest and missed her eyes widen. "I'm going to leave soon." Her eyes got even wider. "After this mission I'm leaving, maybe for good. I have some unfinished business to take care of."

"Sasuke-kun…"

"No…" he shook his head, "Sasuke can rot for all I care. He's not my brother anymore. My brother died when he left me to become the very thing that he despised most." He shook his head again, "No. There are larger things than Sasuke and the Akatsuki.

"What could be worse than them?"

"I…I can't tell you…" he could feel the presence get depressed. "But about yesterday morning…" his stomach clenched, "I realized that I'd developed feelings for you…"

-----------------

Shy Hinata shrunk a little bit, and the door burst open via a Brave Hinata's kick; biting her nails watching to see what would happen next.

-------------------

"…but, that's why I have to leave. Like I said a while back, I can't let anyone into my heart again. Anyone who gets too close is destined to die a gruesome fate." She was on the verge of tears. "I wish I had realized your feelings a few years ago when it could have made a difference. I'm sorry…" he turned around and took a step towards the caravan.

Hinata fought through her tears. "Who are you…?

He turned around "Hm?"

"Y-you're not the same Naruto-kun I admired when you left four years ago. What changed you? Tell me…"

He sighed, knowing that he had to tell her. "You aren't going to make this easy for me are you?" she shook her head. He knelt on the ground, and she mirrored him, her knees inches from his, her eyes looking pleadingly into Naruto's. "It started after Jiraya died-"

"OKAY! That's enough of that! I thought there was going to be some kissing going on! Who doesn't like a bit of sappy love tragedy?" a voice called out from the trees.

"About time you showed yourself…" Naruto stated.

A figure leapt out of the treetops and landed of the road in front of them; clad in a simple green robe, with a black rope belt. Purple eyes stared out from under the hood hungrily.

"Oh so you noticed me? I guess I should have known that I couldn't slip by the all mighty Number Three."

"Number Three…?" Hinata asked.

"Oh right. I forgot out dear sweet Naruto-Kun's girly-friend. Yeah, he was about to tell you all about it wasn't he? Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it once I've killed him." He smiled revealing gnarly yellow teeth.

"Are you under orders?" Naruto asked.

"No, but they'll reward me highly for bringing the head of a traitor; probably with your position."

"I guess it never did settle well with you that I moved up to Number Three in two years, when you've been Number six for fifteen." He turned his head to look at Hinata. "Activate you're Byakugan. Remember my **Kaze no Rokujūyon Hira (64 Hands of Wind)?**"

The figure interjected, "OH so this girl is a Hyuuga? She was going to replace my partner, Number Seven? Fitting, yet ironic; to replace a Hyuuga with another Hyuuga."

"Enough. You know I hate banter and explanations. However, I am about to show Hinata the full potential of my **Kaze no Rokujūyon Hira (64 Hands of Wind).**

The figure smiled again, "Very well. Let's proceed."

Naruto motioned forward as he motioned for Hinata to back away from him. "Your move, _pawn_." he injected as much venom into the last word as possible, knowing it would play on Number six's hatred of being used. He grinned.


	12. A Distant Past and A New Objective

"I'm going to enjoy killing you." He said grinning wickedly.

"So, you are here for your own reasons then?" Naruto asked.

"I came here to challenge you. You took away my teacher like he was nothing." He sneered. He pulled his robe of and threw it to the ground next to him revealing blue ninja pants, and a black shirt with plated armor covering his shins, thighs, arms, and chest. He had short brown hair and striking purple eyes, with a one inch wide scar leading down from his left temple, tapering down to his chin. "I've come to avenge his death and this mark you gave me." He motioned to the scar.

"Very well. Then under the Five Sacred Laws of the Hakumei, Number Six: Taguyo Chitose, you are in breach of laws Two and Five. Your sentence is…death."

"Ha! That doesn't matter as long as I take you with me!" he rushed Naruto.

-------

Hinata was very confused. No, she was totally lost. _What is Hakumei? Could that be what Naruto was going to talk about? What have I gotten myself into? Oh, I hope Naruto is going to be okay._

Her thoughts were cut short as the strange man charged Naruto. She gasped and brought her hands to her mouth as the man unsheathed one of the short swords, and ran Naruto through with it.

"No…" she said softly with tears starting to brim in her eyes. Naruto looked at her and smiled gently, a slight trickled of blood running out of the corner of his mouth.

"You're finished." The man said as he unsheathed his other sword and swung it, aiming to decapitate. However, it never arrived.

It was cut in half mysteriously. Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw the chakra infused wind that Naruto had conjured up.

"You are condemned." Naruto said softly. After checking to make sure Hinata's Byakugan was activated he grabbed the blade that was in his stomach and snapped it off. He looked down and pulled it out of his gut, and threw it off to the side, his gut healing in a wisp of red smoke. The red chakra was boiling off of him now, freezing Hinata in place. She had never felt so much chakra before, much less chakra that felt so _evil_. It made her skin crawl. She wanted to turn her Byakugan off, but she saw something moving inside of him. Red smoke rolled around his stomach, finally forming into the thing of nightmares. _He really does have it in him_…she thought, but then she saw the two chakra appendages anchoring him into the ground, while the third formed behind him.

Naruto took a step back, speaking to the condemned in a different voice than his normal cheery one. This one had his own strained voice, along with the voice of something unseen, and evil. "You have her to thank for giving me the idea to finally complete my own unique jutsu. Well, maybe not completely unique." He smiled baring his fangs and flashing his red eyes. "But you're not going anywhere."

"What d-do you mean?" the man stammered, obviously getting nervous.

Naruto simply pointed. Around the man's feet were two red tendrils wrapping themselves around his feet and shins. Try as the man could, he could not dislodge his feet. "Hold still now, we wouldn't want to miss and still be alive when we're finished."

Naruto entered his mock-Hakke stance. "Fūton: Kaze no Rokujūyon Hira(Wind Release: 64 Hands of Wind)!" His arms blurred as he struck twice, four times, eight times, thirty-two times, and finally sixty-four times.

The man, who innards were completely destroyed by the attack, crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap. Naruto ran through a couple of seals and the man's inner chakra coils, which were already destroyed, exploded in a bright blue flame, covering what was left of the body in an intently hot fire, until all that was left was a smoking heap of ash. The red chakra receded leaving Naruto to sit down hard.

"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata yelled as she ran over to him and threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder.

"See? I knew I'd be alright. I just had to end that quickly. If he had drawn blood, things would have gotten pretty nasty." He smiled down at her.

Shino appeared out of the surrounding trees, and Naruto addressed him, "Get the caravan moving. I'll meet up with you guys in a little while. I have some immediate matters to attend to." Taking notice of Shino's rising eyebrow, he elaborated, "Don't worry I'll be fine. In due time, you will all know." Shino nodded and headed back towards the caravan, taking a stunned Shikamaru and Kiba with him.

Naruto peeled Hinata off of him. She was very upset about this, being out of contact with him, but his grip was gentle, yet firm. She looked at his eyes and he said, "Look, I'll finish my story in a little while okay? Right now I have to be alone." He smiled slightly.

"But…I don't want you to be alone. What if there are more?"

He shook his head slowly, "There aren't any more."

"But how do you know that?"

"Because I know these people; and because his partner died a week ago."

An explosion of earth came from behind her in the direction of the caravan. "Looks like we've got work to do." He smiled at her. She nodded and they both headed back to the caravan.

-----------------------

Two earth-nin stood in the open. They both leered at the three ninja who barred their way to the rest of the convoy.

"Hmph. This should be fun." One of them rasped.

"Don't underestimate them," the other warned "I've seen them fight in the past few Chuunin exams. The one with the glasses is especially dangerous."

"Then we'll beat them at a range…" the first sneered. "Doton: Tsuchi Enchou no jutsu (Earth Release: Earth Dome Jutsu)!"

Before the Konoha nin could react, they were trapped inside a very familiar looking dome of earth.

"Not again." Kiba moaned "How are we supposed to get out this time?"

"What a drag…" Shikamaru complained, "Let me think for a moment."

Sounds from outside and muffled explosions reached their ears. "Great, we're trapped inside here, and the people are getting slaughtered!" Kiba yelled, "I'm getting us out of here! **Tsuuga**!" He drilled into six inches into the wall, letting a small shaft of light pierce the darkness before letting up. However, before Shino's bugs could get through, the hole had repaired itself.

"My bugs seem to enjoy the wall." Shino stated, noticing the dirt slowly starting to fall of the section where his bugs had attached themselves.

"Let me try again," Kiba offered. Shino's bugs vacated that section of wall and Kiba yelled again, "**Tsuuga**!" He drilled into the wall, stopping a few seconds later. This time he had drilled a neat two-foot hole into the wall, but still no light. "What the hell is going on here?"

Shikamaru spoke, "It seems as though he added more dirt onto the wall after your first try." He hummed to himself, "What about down?" everyone looked at the floor. A huge explosion rocked everyone around inside.

"I dunno, but I might as well try." Kiba mumbled. Shikamaru covered his face as he was sprayed with dirt. When he looked back, Kiba had already drilled a hole in the ground. "It's okay!" he called up. "It doesn't seem to be repairing itself…" he yelled again; then he suddenly drilled off to one side, filling the space behind him with the dirt from his front.

"Baka. How does he expect us to get out?" he asked looking at Shino, who merely shrugged. Dirt started falling from the ceiling. "We had better get out of here soon."

At that moment, Kiba and Akamaru drilled through the side looking somewhat panicked. "C'mon!" He yelled, motioning frantically from the to follow. The exited the dome just as it collapsed in on itself. But, they were out of the frying pan and into the fire, quite literally.

The entire forest was in flames around them. The flames were so intense, that they were sucking out most of the breathable air. Across the clearing, what was left of the two slaughtered ninja lay near a blood-splattered Naruto, his t-shirt in rags.

"I knew I needed a breastplate…" he mumbled to himself as he started picking up the scattered kunai and senbon around the roadside. Then he noticed the other four coming to him. "Oh good, you survived.

"Yea, no thanks to you." Kiba muttered darkly.

"Actually, it was all thanks to me," the blonde answered.

"What do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"I mean…" he rolled his eyes, "…that I had a choice: the princess, or you. And just my luck, I felt the need to save you guys. I killed the guy who was holding you prisoner in that mud cave, the owner of those legs over there. He gestured nonchalantly to the detached limbs that stood up against a tree like a pair of grotesque props left behind by some insane clown. "But, lets get out of here. It's kinda getting hard to breathe."

"But, what about the survivors?" Kiba asked.

Naruto shook his head. "None…c'mon, let's go." And he disappeared into the tree line. They just looked after him for a second then followed suit.

----------------------

"So the mission was a failure." Tsunade said behind clasped hands.

"Yes." Shikamaru replied.

"Why…?"

Shikamaru explained, "We were about a day from our destination when Naruto was attacked." Tsunade's eyes flicked over to Naruto, but with a wave of his hand her eyes returned to Shikamaru. "When we arrived, Naruto had already finished the battle. We were already on our way back when the caravan was attacked. We were caught in the enemy's jutsu, but we got out after Naruto had arrived and killed them both. There were no survivors. However, I think that the dual attack was merely a coincidence. I do not believe that they knew of each other. The one Naruto was fighting wore no hita-ite, whereas, the one's we fought were Earth-nin."

Tsunade hummed to herself. "Who attacked you Naruto? Was it who I think it was?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it was much worse." Five pair of eyes swung onto him. He suddenly felt a little foolish for letting it slip. "But, that can wait until tomorrow. I promise I'll write a report as soon as I can with as much detail as possible. You'll get it before nine days."

"Why nine?" Kiba asked.

"I have a schedule to keep."

"Oh, the great and powerful Uzumaki Naruto, scheduler extraordinaire…." Kiba mumbled.

"That's enough. You are all dismissed." Tsunade said. "Oh, and Naruto." He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "Don't think you are a failure just because you failed your mission." She smiled, trying to comfort the non-existent sadness. He simply shrugged and walked off.

-----------------------

They left the Hokage Tower, and said their goodbyes and all went their separate ways. Hinata turned towards the Hyuuga mansion, when her hand was grabbed and she was hauled in the opposite direction. She looked at the hand and saw that it was connected with Naruto's arm.

"Come with me." he said.

"But, Father wants me home immediately." She said with a blush.

"He can wait." Naruto stopped walking, and looked a her. "I'll even giving you a note excusing you for being late."

She giggled and allowed herself to be led away.

-------------------

The two reached the ever-empty training ground seven, and Naruto stopped and leaned closely towards Hinata. Ignoring her blush he move his mouth straight to her ear, stopping a centimeter away. She could feel his warm breath, and it made her tingle all over, and blush even more. But, instead of kissing it, like she wanted him to do so badly, he spoke.

"Hinata, scan the area and make sure there is no one around. Look VERY closely." He waited a few seconds as she looked around. "Clear?"

"Y-yes."

"You're sure…"

"Yes."

"Good." He backed away "**Doton: Tsuchi Soujuu no Jutsu (Earth Release: earth Manipulation jutsu)**!" he said making the appropriate seals. Two little stone chairs molded out of the ground, and they both sat down.

"First thing: you must promise me never, ever, repeat this to another living soul. Not event he Hokage. Okay?" She nodded. "Good, now…where was I?" he thought for a moment. "Ah yes.. Jiraya is dead and I had just killed Kisame…." He started

"I was in that very town that you had met my teacher in. That little port town. I had passed out in the forest, very badly injured and exhausted, when someone picked me up and took me into his home. He cared for me, and nursed me back to health. It was two weeks before I was up and moving around normally. As you might have guessed, I couldn't trust anyone at the time.

So, as soon as I could, I made the decision to burn Jiraya's body and take it with me. I had gotten very close to him. He was more than a sensei, more than a brother. He became a second father figure for me. Sure he left me to train by myself for days on end to go looking at the naked women, but the time we spent together more than made up for it. As soon as I could leave, I did. I happened to take the first ship I could find. It was heading toward Water Country.

---------------------------  
_  
A new set of clothes had Naruto feeling in a good mood. Well, a somewhat better mood. He had cremated the remains of Jiraya and his own old Hita-Ite, and had the remains dangling off of his belt._

Standing on the bow of the ship, wind blowing in his hair, looking back at the receding Fire Shore, made him feel anew, and good. Until he had to vomit over the side of the railing. He had completely shed all emotions for anyone back home, and replaced it with a single goal: I must get stronger, so that I can keep my precious people from dying.

The next day Naruto was not feeling so well. Maybe it was and the rocking and people shouting, and the large crashes. Wait; crashes? he thought. He stumbled onto the deck just in time for a gigantic spiked ramp to crash down on the deck next to him, sending him careening into the ocean. Struggling to the surface, he found half of the broken steering wheel and latched on.

The tide was so fast that within the fifteen seconds it took for him to hit the water, reach the surface, and grab the wheel, the two ships were already hundreds of feet away, the large black sails towering over the mast of the small schooner.

He was too tired. Days of not eating, and getting little sleep had taken its toll. So, instead of running back to the ships and fighting, he clung desperately to the wheel and blacked out.

------

The next few days were merely a blur. Ocean, more ocean. A bird, pecking at his skull, drawing blood. An island. A beach. More beach. More beach. A pineapple. A lovely delicious heavenly pineapple. More beach. A man. A bed.

When Naruto awoke, he felt much better. The left side of his face felt really hot and hurt when he touched it, though he didn't care at all when his stomach announced that there was food nearby.

Naruto grabbed the bowl of soup, and nearly wet himself it tasted so good. It wasn't hot, but he didn't care. After he was done, he began to take stock of what was around him. He was in a small bed in a very Spartan room. Only a small cooking pit, a large trunk and a window accompanied him in the room.

Naruto sat up holding his head., groaning from the headache. He swung his legs over the side, picking them up as they touched the floor, "Cold…" he said to no one. He steeled himself and stood up, wincing. He decided to look around for a while until that strange man came back.

He opened the door and gasped. He was looking upon shelf after shelf of scrolls and books. Though not very pretty compared to the Konoha library (he snuck in once), it was still awe-inspiring. He went over to the only chair and sat down in it, staring at the wall, thinking about the past few weeks.

He didn't have long to wait as a man in his seventies entered. He had jet-black hair with red tips, and a green cloak on, fastened by a black rope belt. "Oh, good we're up." He smiled.

"How long was out?" Naruto moaned.

"I don't know. Maybe three to four days. Found you on the beach. Good thing I felt your chakra signature too, you were half-past-dead when I arrived."

"Thanks, I guess."

"What, did you want to die?"

"No, I still have many to kill." Naruto's eyes got hard.

"So, you're just like all the others…" he pulled out a small stool, and sat down on it.

"Others?" Naruto asked.

"Ninja." He answered. "From day one, they're brainwashed to bury their feelings, or destroy their hearts." He shook his head. "It's just not right, turning a human into a machine. If we were all killers we would all be like Kyuubi." Naruto's back stiffened at the mention of his ever-constant companion. He shuddered at the memories.

Takashi continued, "But there is hope for our kind yet. It lies in people like you. And in order to have emotions later on, we must kill those who would dare oppose it; Swiftly and without remorse. It is those years of peace that we strive for."

"'We?'"

"Hn. never mind that." He smiled "Let me get changed and then we'll go get something to eat.

Naruto nodded and followed Takashi into the room after a few minutes. Takashi already had a small fire going in the pit and was getting ready to leave. "I have various traps set up in the forest. I'm going to go see if I caught anything that we can eat for lunch."

"You wouldn't happen to have any ramen would you?"

"Not for you. You don't need ramen right now." He said opening the door "Back in a few…"

A few hours later, the sun had reached its zenith, and began its long decent, and Takashi finally returned with an already dressed young deer slung over his shoulders. "Sorry it took so long, the trap was meant for a rabbit, so it just hurt this one's leg, and I had to track it down. Hope you don't mind, I cleaned it and left the nasty bits for the critters.

Takashi put on a fire out of some logs on the side of the small house. Noticing Naruto's confused look, he explained. "Can't have a dead animal stinking up where we're going to sleep can we?" Naruto hummed.

Takashi started cutting strips of meat and put them in the pot he had over the fire and added water. "Now, I'll let that stew for a while, so we've got nothing better to do than talk." He looked at Naruto, "So, how did you come to wash up on my beach?"

Naruto sighed, looking into the fire. "I was training and my sensei died." Takashi nodded solemnly to himself, but Naruto corrected himself, "No, he was murdered; by someone who wanted to get to me."

"What's so important about you?"

"I…don't know." Naruto lied. "But, instead of fighting honorably, they poisoned him. When I found his body and the bastard that killed him, I…I broke down and lost it." He said forcing back tears. "He was second person would've considered a father. The first almost gave his life for me, putting his own body in the way. HE would have died with honor, but poisoning a man while he's drunk; that's low." Naruto chuckled, "He, he got what he had coming, that damned coward." He held up his hands and looked at them, "Tore him apart with these very hands. At first I was horrified. It was…like I was taken over. I couldn't control my body, but I could watch. Part of me was glad I couldn't control my body; glad that I couldn't feel his intestines as I pulled them out and showed them to him. But, another part of me wished that I could. It wished that I could show him his still beating heart, while I held it in front of him while he died." He sighed again, "I got away from his partner, or more correctly, he got away from me." Naruto smiled wickedly, "S-rank bloodline ninjutsu my ass. Apparently he hasn't met anyone with my…talents before."  
  
S-rank…no… is he talking about Itachi? Wow this kid is really something. Then again, there's no way that a mere Genin could break the Tsukiyomi. Maybe something ELSE in his mind did though. _Takashi thought. And he smiled a little bit._ There's my luck for me. Of all the places in the world he could be, he had to show up on my beach. I can't believe I've found _him_. Fourteen years and I've found him.  
_  
"So I headed back to the town, and barely made it too. An old man found me and nursed the back to semi-health. And in that time I found a reasonable purpose in life._

"…And that is?" Takashi asked.

"I can't get near my friends; otherwise they'd just die horribly. Also I live on borrowed time, so I wish to spend it protecting them from anything that would destroy them, even if it means myself."

"It makes me glad to hear you say that," Takashi said as he disappeared inside for a minute and came back with a small bag. "Here, cut these and continue your story."

Naruto opened the sack and pulled out a carrot and potato in each hand. He looked back and forth between them and then at Takashi. "Um, I don't know how to cook."

"Than that's something else I'll have to teach you."

Naruto 'humphed', completely missing the 'else'. "Anyways…" he started cutting the vegetables with the knife that Takashi gave to him. "…After I left the old man's home, I knew I couldn't go back, so I decided to get stronger someplace else."

"Wait," Takashi interrupted. "Didn't you have a teacher who trained you?"

"Ppff, some teacher he was. Kakashi-sensei didn't even teach me one single jutsu." He help up a finger to emphasize his point "He always played favorites. 'The famous Copy-nin, Master of a Thousand Jutsu; he taught my rival his own technique; the one original jutsu that he created. He taught me more in that damn bell test than the entire span I was his student. As a ninja, he's top notch, but as a teacher, he totally fails. Even Ero-sennin was a better teacher. He taught me the only thing can beat the Chidori." He grinned smugly.

"So wait a minute," Takashi put his hands up "You've had Kakashi AND Jiraya as teachers?" Naruto nodded. "Okay, once you're fully recovered, how about a spar?"

Naruto eyed him with suspicion. "I mean no offense, but you've got to be like ninety years old."

Takashi coughed and stuck his chin out. "I'm only seventy-two, and I was quite the ninja in my day. I might even have a jutsu or two to teach you."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really? Wow, that's so cool. I can't wait till the next time I see Sasuke-teme. I'll REALLY show him who the boss is."

"Who's Sasuke-teme?"

Naruto poured the sliced vegetables into the boiling stock, and related his story to Takashi. Once he was finished, Takashi was shaking with barely restrained laughter.

"You've got to be kidding me! For a 'genius' he sure is dumb." Seeing Naruto look at him questioningly, he explained, "When someone smokes, is it worse for them if they smoke the air from the cigarette or second hand?" Naruto thought about Shikamaru's sensei, and shrugged. "Let me explain. Its worse when you get it from the cigarette, because second-hand has already been filtered twice; once through the cigarette, once through the smoker's lungs." Naruto 'oh-ed' and shrugged again. "It works the opposite way with Sasuke. Both Orochimaru and Itachi learned from Konoha, so why go to them? It's working against him. Why go to some second-rate pretender when you can go straight to the source?"

Naruto was nodding his head, "You're right. Man you're smart!"

Takashi tapped his head, "It comes in bursts kid. When you're my age, you take what you can."

"So! What are you going to teach me?" Naruto leaned in.

"Not so fast, you gotta prove to me that you're worthy."

"Yosh! After dinner, I'll go straight to bed. That way tomorrow I'll be ready to fight you!"

-----------------

Naruto woke with a start. He giggled to himself, "Today's the day…" He hurriedly dressed himself and ran into Takashi's room. "Wake up! Wake up!" Takashi moaned and rolled over, covering his head with a pillow. "C'mon, wake up!"

"Just cause you got a full night's sleep, doesn't mean I did." He made s shooing motion with his hand. "Go run three laps around the island, or something."

"Okay!" with that, Naruto disappeared, leaving a smirking Takashi. He actually knew how big the island really was.

A few hours later, Naruto trudged into the little yard, exhausted. "Wow…that was…really far…" he panted, sitting down hard.

"Rest for a minute. You'll need it." He opened and eye to see Naruto lying flat on his back, clutching his stomach to silence its roars. "It's not much, but I have some instant ramen in the chest for when I…Naruto?" he looked around. "Where'd he go?" Naruto had come back, with four cups of instant ramen, and was already in the process of lighting the previous night's fire. "Now way you can eat all that…"

Naruto eyed him mischievously. "Wanna bet?"

"Um…no thanks" Naruto finished them all in only ten minutes.

"So…good…" and Naruto fell asleep.

-------------------

Naruto stood in his battle stance, which meant he was standing with his arms crossed, glaring at Takashi. Takashi was wearing a dark blue shirt, with a white vest, and dark blue pants.

Naruto charged when Takashi blinked; Naruto quickly made four Kage Bunshins and screamed, pulling out Kunai, and hurling them towards Takashi. Takashi simply unsheathed two eighteen-inch short swords and blocked each one in quick succession. He then started weaving in and out of Naruto's clones, dodging punches and kicks, and occasionally sending out one of his own, snuffing out a clone each time. Naruto grew frustrated when his clones were gone and he quickly made a dozen more.

Takashi's eyes widened. "Where did you get the chakra to do that?"

"I've had it since I was born!" he yelled and charged.

Within Takashi's mind, he flashed back to the very night, fourteen years ago. He was standing on the outskirts of a town in Earth Country. The was nothing special about this town, except its purpose with his group. A large red spark in the air meant that it was time to begin the ritual. These pitiful beings' blood would be offered and their chakra used to summon a God. The Nine, were placed ideally on the outskirts of the town equally to ensure that the seal would work perfectly. He was so entranced by this memory, that he didn't notice the fist connecting with his face, to four clones sliding behind him and kicking him into the air, the real Naruto materializing in the air above and sending him back to earth with a kick to the ribs, screamed "Naruto Rendan!". He coughed and winced at what was probably a cracked rib. He didn't heal it completely, but he healed it enough so that he could finish the fight.

"Looks like I'm going to have to kick it up a notch." Takashi stated. His hands worked in a series of seals. "Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding Mist Jutsu)" A thick cloud of mist covered the clearing completely enveloping Naruto in its cold embrace.

"Where are you?" Naruto mumbled to himself.

"Here," Takashi whispered into his ear before sending him flying into a tree."

Naruto groaned. "Bastard…" he gritted his teeth. His eyes darted back and forh, despereatly searching for the very same ninja who was perched in the tree above him.  
However, Takashi's rib lanced through with pain and the gasped and almost inaudible gasp. The tree shattered beneath him and suddenly the Naruto poofed away. He looked back as he was falling and saw naruto with his hand near the splintered trunk. Takashi fell in the midst of of the leaves and branches.

----

Naruto smirked. He couldn't have made it through that. He had barely heard the intake of breath, and quickly made a kage bunshin and swapped places. Remembering the tree climbing lesson, he pumped a huge amount of chakra into the tree trunk causing it to shatter.

"Hm…" Naruto frowned, "You aren't dead yet are you?" No answer. He shrugged "Oh well." He turned to walk away but was stopped when he heard the murmur of 'Doton: Tsuchi Soujuu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Earth Manipulation jutsu)! '

A crater appeared under the tree ten yards in diameter, and a foot deep. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled and another doppelganger appeared next to him. He started gathering chakra into his hand while the clone spun it, bringing forth the legacy from the Yondaime. Takashi's eyes widened as he saw the blue orb in Naruto's hands, but stood his ground.

Naruto charged forward with his clone in tow as he thrust his palm forward. But, to his disappointment, Takashi bent out of the way just in time, to send the Rasengan into the tree, sending a shower of splinter everywhere. Naruto felt a foot on his back, sending him crashing into another tree a dozen yards away. When he looked back Takashi was standing in the middle of the crater, now cleared of the tree by Naruto's Rasengan, flashing through seals.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha (Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave)" He spit out water to fill the basin up to the brim. Taking a stance by stepping onto the water, he half crouched with his hands six inches apart, ready to make seals. "You're never going to beat me holding back."

Naruto's eye flashed. "Fine then Taijuu Kage Bunsin no Jutsu!" Naruto's poofed into existence everywhere. Within esconds the clearing and all of the branches were filled with glaring Narutos.

---

Takashi couldn't count them all. There was no need to count them. He couldn't make shadow clones now, not when he was so low on chakra. He thought for a minute, Man, this kid's a machine. And, he hasn't even tapped into the fox's chakra. Hm, what to do? Well, I have just enough to diffuse the situation. _Takashi flashed through and extremly long and complicated string of seals, calling out " Suiton: Aisu Suishou Bakudan (Ice Crystal Bomb)!" Three medium sized pillars of water, and one large sized pillar, shot up from the ground around him. The large pillar encircled him, while the other three formed together into a large crystal easily thirty yards in diameter. Once the ice above him hardened, the water that was circling around him froze to form a shell. With a yell of "Kai!" the crystal exploded, snuffing out the Narutos by the dozens, until within two second there were none left._

Takashi let his ice dome fall down around him into snow. "Hope he survived." He said. This was confirmed by the pained moan coming from his right. He ran over to Naruto, who was lying on his back, clutching a large shard that was sticking out of his right shoulder.

"I can't fix that." He said pointing to Naruto's shoulder.

"Well," He grunted, "I should be alright in a few days or so."

"That's not going to be good enough. Were going to have to melt that thing and you're going to have to tap into the fox's chakra for that to heal." Ignoring Naruto's stammering he continued. "Look I don't care about the fox, but that's one of the reasons I want to train you. If you really want to show everyone that you aren't the demon, then you're going to have to gain control of his powers. After all, it wouldn't look good if there was a miniature Kyuubi running around destroying everything. We're going to have to melt that quickly, because it will freeze your blood and we don't want frozen blood to enter your heart." Naruto nodded dumbly. "Good, then when your shoulder is fixed, we'll begin your training.  
  
---------------------------

"So, for a few months I trained, then I…we…decided that I needed field experience. So I taged along with Takashi on his missions."

"But…I thought you said he was a missing-nin."

"He is, but he is a blade for hire, much like Zabuza. But, please don't ask me any more. This is one secret that you must not know of. If anyone found out that I told you this much we would both have a price on our head so large, neither of us would be able to go near a civilized town again.

She nodded slightly, holding her hands near her mouth. "So, you went along with his missions?

"Yes"

"And you killed people…."

"Yes." H replied.

"How many?"

Naruto sighed, "One Hundred and Thirty-seven."

She gasped and looked at him. "Why?" she asked in a meek voice.

"Because we are killers. It's what we do," He stated matter-of-factly, looking out into the forest, his eyes focusing on nothing. "We kill so that others may live. And when the time comes, we must give our lives to whoever watches over us. We shinobi live on borrowed time. If any village psychiatrist were to examine us, they would be surprised to find the mind of a fully fledged adult, living inside the body of a child. We've been brainwashed into following orders. Loyalty to the mission, Loyalty to the Village, Loyalty to the Hokage. They have drilled this into our heads since day one that the Hokage is the Supreme Being in our lives. But, sometimes they are wrong. Very wrong, and they must be destroyed." His eyes came back into focus and he looked back at Hinata. "The Late Mizukage, Seventy-three Jounin, seventeen Chuunin, thirty-five Genin, and twelve S-rank missing-nin from here..." He rattled off the figures as he unfastened the scroll from his belt. He made a few seals and a black book appeared. Hinata recognized it as a Bingo Book, but this one had seals arranged over many pages. Naruto picked up the book, careful not to touch the seal that fastened cover to cover. He tapped into the fox's chakra, and made a single bubbling claw on his right hand.

"You must never touch this book. This seal contains a poison that kills within seconds. I have to use the demon's chakra just to cut through the seals. A glove doesn't even work." He opened the book and flipped through the pages. Hinata saw a seal on every one of them, most of which looked like storage scrolls. Naruto came to a page and made a few seals, smearing blood on one corner of the page. Another Bingo Book popped up, this one much thicker than the Leaf Bingo Book that she had seen before. It had a big red marker tucked into the spine on the inside of it. "I get my assignments by jutsu. That way there's no actual contact with the clients. Of course I never know who is next until I look into the book." He opened it and showed her the people, each having been marked through with a big red slash, by flipping through the pages until it came to rest on a single black haired person. He stared at the picture before closing it and resealing the book back in the other one.

He re-sealed all of the seals he undid, and fastened the scroll to his belt. "It's getting late." Naruto said, standing up. "I have to go home so I can write my report for Tsunade"

Hinata smiled at him and stood up. Fighting back a blush, she hugged him and then turned to run off in the direction of her home.

---------------------

The last surviving Earth-nin who attacked the convoy entered the darl chamber that housed one of the most feared people in all of the Five Countries. His left arm was usless, thanks to a senbon from that blonde brat. Oh that brat will pay. No one hurts Nagase Tetsuo and gets away with it. He'd just have to get his revenge on the blonde kid after he was done delivering his package.

He carried the blonde girl into the musty room where the Snake Man sat. He laid her at the foot of the throne and backed away. "Here is the girl, Orochimaru."

"Kukuku, well done Tetsuo. You may leave now." he waved the Jounin away, like a king waving off another dish after he had already stuffed himself.

"Hey wait a minute!" Tetsuo yelled pointing at Orochimaru with his good hand, "I nearly got killed out there and I _demand_ just compensation!"

To this Orochimaru just cuckled evily to himself, sending a chill down Tetsuo's spine. Before Tetsuo knew what had hit him, he was sent careening into the wall next to the door that he had entered, courtesy of Orochimaru's fist.

"You listen and you listen well. I give the orders around here. Not you. Me. Now leave my sight you pitiful excuse for a shinobi."

Tetsuo could do nothing but scramble out of the door, trying to catch his breath and waiting for the pain to subside in his stomach. _To hell with my revenge on the brat, now this bastard's gonna pay._ he thought cruelly to himself. _I wonder how much Konoha would pay for this information.  
_  
---

After he had phisically dismissed Tetsuo, Orochimaru went back to his throne and sat down. Kabuto came into the room and went to pick up the unconcious princess. After examining her, he looked up at his master, "She'll make a fine edition to your collection." Assuming she survives the unlocking process.

"Good. Because Sasuke's going to have a challenging fight ahead of him."

"A fight my lord?"

"Yes. Tetsuo's going to betray me to Konoha." Kabuto's eyes widened, and made a move to leave the room to kill him. "But, i'll play along with it for now. Knowing Tsunade, she'll send along Naruto-kun, and then Sasuke will kill him, unlocking his Mangekyou Sharingan. Then I will finally take his body for my own."

Kabuto smiled, "Yes my lord." and left with the princess to the medical wing fo the underground lair, hearing the maniacal laugh that echoed in the halls around him.

----------------------  
Hinata lay in her bed that night, thinking of everything that Naruto had told her. It made her feel good, knowing that he had confided in her, that which he hadn't told any other soul. But her mind kept going back to the last page that Naruto had flipped to. She had seen who was next, and who was next after him.

The Black-haired boy and the blonde woman. Sasuke Uchiha and the very Hokage herself.


	13. Retrieval, and a possible Betrayal

Number Two was in Konoha, enjoying the blue skies. He preferred the salty air of his beach, when he used to live on the volcanic island, but the clear blue skies and the lush green forest suited him just fine as well. He was dressed in his green robe with the inch-thick black rope belt. Sitting on top of the First's head, he had a clear view of Konoha, and the surrounding forest. However, in his mind things were no as tranquil. He was having a meeting with his superior, Number One.

-----

"You wanted me to keep tabs on him, and now you don't want to know what I've found?"

"Very well, what did you find out?"

"Well, it appears that he could get in easily and kill her, but I fear we may lose control of the situation. The higher-ups seem to be on edge about something. There are more guards around than normal. In addition, the White Fang's son has also been hanging around the Vessel more and more, and the Vessel seems to be reforming bonds. My advice: Change the contracts. I don't think that he can handle it mentally. I know that the Konoha Hokage is the only one not under our sway, but I suggest we leave her be, for now. Also, about the Uchiha Contract, the Uchiha has been training with the Akatsuki defector, Orochimaru. With his Sharingan, Orochimaru would become quite the nuisance. It would probably take one of us, _and_ the Vessel to take him out of the picture. However, I don't think that Orochimaru will be in the picture for much longer anyways. The Sharingan is not to be toyed with."

"I would have to agree with you there. Even, I would toy not want to fight another of the Uchiha clan. Is there anything else I should know before we convene?"

"Yes; the Vessel seems to be getting very close to a local."

"Oh?"

"Yes, a Hyuuga. Not a strong Hyuuga, but a Hyuuga none the less. It also appears that the Vessel was in a battle with Number Six. But before I could get there, he incinerated his chakra coils, so there was nothing that I could get. But after talking with Number Five about when he was training the vessel, it seems that he can control up to three of his tails, after that, he loses all sense of awareness and becomes a rampaging monster."

"Yes. I was already privy to this information. Number Six broke our laws, and he got his punishment. There is no room for error here."

"Yes sir. One last thing before the meeting: Number Four died while fighting Deidara. From what I reconstructed from his latent chakra he only took off Deidara's right arm before getting himself killed by an explosion to the head. From the information, I should be able to put together a scroll on his strengths and weaknesses. "

"Good. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment."

"Then I'll contact you in a few minutes."

Number Two was released from the jutsu. He spent the next few minutes collecting his thoughts before the meeting. He felt a familiar presence below him and to the right, down the street. He spotted the Jinchuuriki walking down the street in the company of the Hyuuga that he had apparently become fond of. Something had to be done soon, otherwise he might lose control of the vessel, and the entire time it took training him would have been wasted. He flared his chakra just enough just to make his presence known to the Vessel; not enough to attract those pesky Black Ops, but for someone who was familiar, it should have been easy for him to sense. The Vessel looked up with a somewhat surprised look. Number Two motioned for him to come up. Naruto shook his head silently and jerked his head toward his companion. Number Two pointed at her and held up two fingers, silently saying _her too. _Naruto shook his head vigorously silently pleading him not to involve her. Number Two sighed and held up his hands in a gesture of resignation, and then he held up two fingers again and tapped his wrist with one, then proceeded to tap his temple. Naruto nodded in understanding, and said something to his comrade. She blushed a little, and bowed, then ran away. Naruto promptly jumped up and joined Number Two on the rooftop.

"Thank you." Was all he said, looked at where she had disappeared from view.

"So do you return the feelings for her?"

Naruto sighed, "No, but I must keep up my appearances. I'm going to have to buy my time with my assignment though. She's dangerous."

"That won't be a problem. You're being taken off that contract."

"What?" Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"You're too close to her. Number One doesn't have the confidence in you that Number Five does."

"Then who's going to take the contract?"

"Number Eight."

"Number Eight? Are you kidding me? There's no way that he can defeat her all by himself."

"That may be the case, but it's his contract now, and it is neither yours nor my place to argue that. Check your book, your targets have changed."

"'Targets'? Why not the Uchiha?"

"That's not for you to ask. 'The less you know…"

"'…the less I can reveal under torture.' I know that law. Either way, I'm going to see him. I just got-" Naruto was cut off with a sign from Number Two.

"Ready?"

"I guess. I still don't understand why we have to go into _my _mind to do this."

Number two put a hand on Naruto's back, making a seal with his left hand. "One, because I'm here, and two, because Number One likes being near Kyuubi. It makes him feel like he can take on the world."

"From the way you speak of him, it sounds like he can."

"I don't know. I've only been in his presence once, but I could already tell that he knows what he is doing. His mind is the only one I have no desire to enter. But, I digress; on the topic of minds, it's time to get stared."

Naruto only nodded as he was tugged from the real world into the depths of his mind.

-----

Naruto waited in the damp hallway listening to the ominous drip-dripping that he had learned to hate. It represented everything that had bound him to this mission. If it weren't for that damned fox he, he could be off somewhere, lying on a beach, watching Hinata swim in the ocean. _Wait what? No! I can't let her get in the way. I _must_ obey Number One; he said that you cannot get attached. I have to focus. I must convince Number One to let ME kill Sasuke. I won't be able to kill him though. Otherwise I'll never get that voice out of my head. _ As if to punctuate his thought, a deep, rolling chuckled filled the room. "Not yours!" he yelled, "I'd give my left arm to get you out of my head."

"Oh come on, what would you do; where would you be without me? Dead! If it were not for me, you would have been killed by that Haku brat, or by that pitiful Uchiha for that matter. And where would you be without my advice over the past few years? All I ask is for a little time in the outside world to kill a few people, and eat a few hearts. You know that your power hasn't caught up to the Uchiha. Release the seal, and I will trust my power completely to you."

"Ha! Even if I could let you out, do you really think I would? You'd keep killing and killing until this entire planet would be dead."

"He he, maybe you aren't as stupid as you once were. Ok then how about a little time with your pretty little girlfriend?"

"She is NOT my girlfriend!"

"Funny, the way you think of her, it seems like she is."

Naruto ignored the voice until it finally gave up and left him alone, saying, "Fine, and I'll even keep your little beach fantasy a secret from the mind-reader. By the way, that's quite the interesting crowd you're hanging around these days. It's nothing at all like the people you used to hang out with." The voice trailed off, "Although, you ARE a little more unstable now then you used to be. Oh well, all the better for me. Sooner or later you're going to get very emotional. Then I'll take that time to strike."

At this point Number Two entered the room. Naruto crossed his arms and huffed, leaning against the wall, "Where have you been?"

"Around." He said as the remaining 5 members of the Yoinokuchi buzzed into a circle.

Before anyone could say anything, the shortest member spoke up, "Man, this place gives me the creeps, why do we have to hold them here?" Naruto just chuckled to himself. "And what are you laughing at?"

"If you think that this PLACE is creepy, then you have no idea where we are." Punctuating his comment, a gigantic set of claws reached out of the bars, clawing gouges into the floor.

"What was THAT?" replied the short figure as it recoiled. Naruto just chuckled again.

The spiky haired leader spoke, "Now that we are all here, let's begin. Number Eight, what do you have to report?"

"The large figure off to Naruto's right grumbled, "Number Nine let him get away, but I succeeded in taking of his right arm at the elbow. However, since the Zombie Brothers are a part of his group, I would suspect that it will be reattached. On a better note, I think I may have found where my assigned Jinchuuriki is living. It's on an island to the south of the mainland. I will be leaving with Number Nine shortly to make contact."

The shortest figure spoke again, "I still don't see why I have to go with you. They haven't found me yet. When we fought Deidara, I know I didn't release any of its chakra."

The leader spoke, "The only reason you're alive, is because you still have a part to play. Soon they will come for you, that is why you will not be going with Number Eight. You will be teaming up with Number Three from now on.

Number Two spoke up, "Are you sure that's wise?"

Number One silenced him with a wave of his hand, "Nevertheless, Number Three, You will see to it that she does NOT get captured."

Naruto's brows rose "Unfortunately, that won't be possible. I have been given a mission, and for the sake of my cover, I must follow through with it. A shinobi came forwards with information of Orochimaru's whereabouts, along with the Uchiha that I had been given a contract for. If I disappear now, it will raise suspicion, and Konoha will become a thorn in our sides. No doubt they would send very powerful shinobi after me.

Number One seemed to think for a minute, "Very well then. Number Nine, You will meet with Number Three in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, under the pretence of a Mist Shinobi looking for asylum." Number Nine nodded and One continued, "One last order of business; due to the recent deaths, we will be reordering. Number Five, you are now Number Four. Numbers Eight and Nine, you are now Five and Six. Number Two will be recruiting candidates for the future."

"Yes." Number Two answered and then he was released from the Jutsu, buzzing out.

"Thank you master." Said the large hooded figure of the newly named Number Five, and then he too, was released from the jutsu.

"Then Number One addressed the two remaining figures. "Number Six, remove your hood so Number Three will be able to know you." The figure nodded and pulled her hood back revealing a black-haired girl who couldn't have been any older than 19, with pale skin and two offset colored eyes; one of fire and one of ice. The mismatched eyes made Naruto's brows furrow. "Number Three, when you find the Uchiha, eliminate him. He mustn't be allowed to live." He said as Number Six buzzed out of sight as well, and Number One addressed him one final time, "Number Three do NOT let my brother take her. It would be very bad if she was to be captured. So by any means necessary, DO NOT let my brother get his hands on her."

"It shall be done." Naruto bowed. He was released from the jutsu, and opened his eyes to the darkening Konoha sky. "It's getting late, and I'm going to need my rest." Number Two took his hand off of Naruto's back, and allowed him to jump off of the roof towards his apartment.

Naruto leapt from rooftop to rooftop wondering if he could actually kill his brother. No doubt he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight.

------------------

Kakashi sighed, "I don't like this."

"You know that, at his current level, especially with the Kyuubi's chakra, that he is more than a match for you. You won't be able to calm him down, should he get out of control. When they return, you and Yamato will continue his training. I don't know where he's been, but I would have to assume, since the jutsu he learned were mostly water, that he was learning from someone very powerful in the Land of Waves."

"I still think I should go with him. I feel that he thinks of me as almost an elder brother, if not a surrogate father."

"…Which is exactly the reason why I can't send you. Should you die, and some people aren't coming back from this mission, I don't think Naruto could handle it. Someone has clearly grabbed Naruto and changed him. You must have noticed the difference."

"Hm..." Kakashi nodded. "Unfortunately, I think you're right." He looked up at the third figure in the room. "Tell me you'll take care of him?"

"I will. Tsunade-sama, it is a good thing that you happened to give him your grandfather's necklace. It will help if I ever need to subdue him."

"Let us hope that never happens."

----------------

Naruto stood at the gates once again. It had been a few days since he had gotten the mission, and he used the time to practice with his sword. He never had much use for it, but since the traitor had added that Sasuke had a sword, Naruto felt a little apprehensive about not practicing with it. Of course, slicing logs doesn't count for much; he would still have to ask Number Four to give him lessons.

He had read, from the report, that Sasuke had learned how to use a sword; a standard katana, although his capabilities were still unknown. Naruto felt confident that he could hold his own with his sword. He unsheathed it from his side and looked at it, balanced it in both hands, palms up. It wasn't like most shinobi blades. They tended to be straight, and simple. His came from the far north, well past Fire Country.

He had gotten a contract on a certain man. This man had been terrorizing his subjects enough for them to pool together to hire someone to get rid of him. When Naruto confronted the man, he was told how he actually hated the way he had treated his people, but he did it in order to attract powerful shinobi to best him in combat. Naruto really didn't care because he had a job to do, but the man offered him his sword if he could be defeated, as it had been his tradition with his forefathers.

To say the sword was beautiful was a sever understatement. The eight-inch long grip was a dark brown, inlaid with a gold striping spiraling from the pommel, to the thorn-looking spur that served as the guard. From the guard to the pommel, it curved slightly downward. There was a raised spur immediately in front of the grip that rose about an inch from the main body, and a similar spur a little over a hand span down the sword that poked downward, which allowed the user to grip that part to pull the sword out of the enemy. In front of that was the seventeen-inch-long blade. It was slightly recurved, giving the entire sword a slight "S" shape. The blade gleamed in the sun, its highly polished surface reflecting his image back to him. It was said to have been forged from the metal of a fallen star, hence its name, Hinotama. Along the blade there were kanji that said, _I am Hinotama, divine judgment._ He really didn't know what it meant, but he suspected that it was something religious from the people who forged it. Though he never really did like using the sword, he still decided it was for the best. Swords were ungainly, much like kunai. The only reason for him keeping the sword was because its previous owner fought and died with honor.

Naruto sheathed the sword. When sheathed it resembled a rose stem with two thorns. The gold striping from the pommel continued all the way to the tip of the casing, giving it an organic appearance. He tied the blade onto his left leg and sighed. This battle was going to decide his fate. Either way the battle went, he would go by the guidelines he had set for himself.

Naruto leaned back against the bench, looking around. He felt a presence behind him. It seemed calm, so he switched with a Kage Bunshin and snuck up behind the onlooker. He jumped onto the branch behind the onlooker. He was about to speak up when the sword clanked against his leg. He looked down real quick, and muted it with his hand. He looked up to see if the person had heard him; too late. His left arm was paralyzed and he tried to fling out both are to balance himself, but since his left didn't work, he toppled over backwards and out of the tree. He landed on the ground very ungracefully on his back with a thud. "Ow" was all he could manage.

"Naruto-kun!" the voice followed his out of the tree. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, you just startled me!"

"I'm okay" He winced, and sat up against the tree. He looked down at the sword on his leg, and muttered to himself. "I gotta remember to tie that strap down."

Hinata gave him a quizzical look and followed his gaze down to the sword on his leg. Her eyes widened.

He saw this, and unsheathed it and held its grip towards her.

"Oh no, I couldn't" she said raising a hand to her chin and looked away. However, with a grunt from Naruto, she finally took hold of it and looked it over, taking in every centimeter, every kanji, before handing it back to him. As he sheathed it and buckled the last buckle, she said, "It's beautiful."

_Much like you…_ Naruto shook the thoughts out of his head. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what the blush meant. "Look. I know the way you feel about me, but I can't return the feeling for you." He kept going before she could start crying. "I have too much on my mind right now, and it wouldn't be fair for you. I wouldn't be able to give you the attention you deserve."

She looked away off to the side, unable to meet his gaze as she remembered the pictures from his book. As if reading her mind, he added, "I'm not going to kill her. I gave my word that I will protect everyone. Soon I will be powerful enough to keep my friends from dying. Then, maybe things can go back to the way they once were." She smiled remembering the Naruto she fell in love with, so carefree and innocent. But, he was innocent no more. "Things are going to get very ugly soon, especially around me. So, for your own safety, I'm going to have to ask you to stay away from me, and stay somewhere safe."

Suddenly, for the first time in longer than she could remember, she felt anger. "No! I will not abandon you, my duty, and my friends to hide in some room waiting for news that you have died. I will be there where I belong; by your side. You…" She stood up and pointed a finger at him, "...taught me to never give up, or to sit and watch the world go by." She suddenly composed herself and realized what she just did. "You were the one who inspired me to get stronger, and to break free of those bonds that kept me submissive and complacent."

Naruto couldn't help but smile. He stood also, looking down at her. "Fine," he said still smiling. "…when I get back, let's do something together; as in a date."

Here eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. _Oh my, Naruto-kun just asked me out. HE ASKED ME OUT!!! I mustn't faint! _"O-okay." She managed.

Naruto chuckled and looked around, sensing a few very large auras heading his direction.

A man walked up to him, followed by a strange black-haired kid, Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, two ANBU members: a Cat and Bird, as well as Asuma and Genma. He was sure he'd seen the older man with the helmet before, but he couldn't place his face; and the kid reminded him of Sasuke.

"Good morning." The boy cocked his head and smiled. Naruto just stared back at him, arching an eyebrow. The boy seemed to check himself. "Oh, did I use the wrong expression? In the book that I read, it said to smile when you meet someone."

"You've got to be kidding me." Naruto just looked at the older man, pointing at the boy silently asking "Who is this kid?"

"This is Sai" responded the older man, answering his silent question. "He will be your new teammate, replacing Sasuke" Sakura winced "And I am Yamato, and I will be replacing Kakashi as you team leader."

"What!?!?" Sakura yelled. "What happened to Kakashi-sensei? Why isn't he coming? Why are you just standing there Naruto? Don't you care about Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yes."

"Then why don't you say something?"

"Because…don't you even know where we're going?"

"No. Tsunade-sama said that Yamato-sama would explain when we leave.

"That's probably best." Naruto replied "That way you wouldn't go blabbing to Ino about who you are going to bring back." Yamato arched an eyebrow, but Naruto ignored it and continued, "Why do you think we have such high level ninja coming?" Sakura shrugged, "Sakura, were go to Rice Country. We are going to face Orochimaru, kill him, and bring back Sasuke." Yamato's other eyebrow joined the first. Sakura blanked out, the memories of Sasuke flashing in front of her eyes.

"Let's get moving." Asuma said.

As they all headed out, Yamato waved Naruto off to one side. When they were out of earshot, he spoke, "So, why didn't you tell her the dead or alive part?"

Naruto thought for a second, "Because she doesn't need to know that. It will just cause her to hate me even more than she does right now."

"She doesn't hate you."

"…"

"Okay then, why does she hate you?"

Changing the subject, Naruto said, "So, why you? What's so special about you? Why not Kakashi-sensei?"

"The Hokage said that you wouldn't be able to take his death, should he die, so she decided to have him stay behind. Also, I'm here to stop you if you lose control"

"What makes you think I'm going to lose control?"

"Well, you haven't seen Sasuke in a while, and I don't think you'll like the answers that he's going to give you. Plus he might hurt Sakura, and I know you like her."

"To tell you the truth, I don't like either." Naruto sighed "She would get in the way when I went in for the kill. And I would probably ending up killing her and Sasuke at the same time. But don't worry, I won't completely obliterate his body. I'll leave you something to take back to your Hokage."

"My Hokage?"

"I don't belong in that village. If I do get out of control, I could obliterate that entire village in one shot."

"That's what I'm here for. To stop you from doing that."

"I don't care what you do, as long as I'm not completely focused on you, you might get what you need done. I don't remember the last time I transformed. Apparently, I almost took off my sensei's arm. He ended up with a scar on his right side," he held up his hands forming a circle the size of a dinner plate on his right shoulder. "Luckily, he said the tail was so hot, it cauterized the wound."

"Who is this sensei?"

"No one important. C'mon we're falling behind."

"Naruto, if you don't tell me everything, I won't be able to trust you. And if I can't trust you, I can't be your team leader."

Naruto shrugged. "Either way suits me fine. Like I said earlier, I don't belong in this village. There no place in there for a monster like me. So I really couldn't care less if you trust me or not. The only thing that matters is that I can keep my friends from being hurt."

"How can you do that if you are outside the village? You know you'll be hunted down and found. Just as well, how will your friends ever live if you try to keep them bottled up inside of the village?"

"Hmph..." Naruto huffed "I eluded them for 4 years; I think I can do it again."

"Yes, but dying is just another part of life. We must learn to accept it. Sure Jiraya's death hit us all hard, but we rejoice in his memories. He would not have wanted us to mourn him for 4 years and then try to bottle up our feeling and smother our loved ones."

"Just shut up! How the hell would you know?" Naruto spat at him. "Have you ever lost your grandfather, brother, and father before?" Yamato just looked down. "Heh, I thought so."

"I still believe you need to let go. You'll never be able to enjoy life if you don't. Enjoy the time you have left with your friends. Don't live in fear of the future, live in the present."

"…_don't live in fear of the future, live in the present."_ the words echoed from Takashi's training. Naruto sighed, "They're getting too far ahead, let's hurry to catch up."

_I believe that I've pushed enough. I'll let him think on it a little more. Still, I'm going to have to report this to Tsunade-sama._

They hurried to catch up to the others as the entire troupe was heading off to meet for a final battle for some, and just the start for others.

------------

"Lord Orochimaru-sama, I have cured the princess's disease and she has been rendered catatonic. Should you wish, her body will be ready for transfer."

Orochimaru smiled cruelly to himself. "Very good Kabuto, should Sasuke ever fail me, her body will have to do."

"Her Kekkai Genkai may not be as easy to use as Sasuke-kun's, but it will prove useful in your quest to learn all the world's jutsu. Sasuke may not be needed anymore" Kabuto added. i Because Sasuke-kun has been becoming a real pain in my ass lately. /i 

"Sasuke will always be needed; at least, his Sharingan will be. The capabilities of the Sharingan go for beyond that of the princess's Kekkei Genkai."

"Yes My lord."

"Send for Sasuke, it is time for his- ARG!" Orochimaru coughed and clutched his left shoulder, falling off of his throne and breathing heavily.

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto ran to his side. "This is not good, it seem this body isn't as strong as the one before it. It seems to be failing at a quicker rate than the others. You'll need to perform the transfer soon."

Orochimaru grunted and got back up on his throne. "Soon, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki will come and fight Sasuke, and then I will make my move." He chuckled to himself, wincing, "And to think I was going to let them live a little longer. Who knows maybe they will kill off another Akatsuki member or two."

"Then I'm sorry that I had to bring this up now, but it seems that Naruto-kun has been seen in the company of a man in green robes with a black rope belt."

"No! That can't be. They were all killed!" Orochimaru hissed.

"It gets worse milord; Naruto-kun has been seen wearing this outfit as well."

"This does not bode well for Sasuke-kun then. Perhaps I should help him in the upcoming battle."

"I am afraid it gets worse than that. Naruto-kun was sighted leaving in the company of very powerful shinobi two days ago."

"Not well indeed. It seems that we will require help for this one, I'm afraid to say." The snake-man thought for a minute, then looked up at Kabuto who stood next to him and smiled evilly, causing the man to back away a few paces. "Contact the Shadow Fox…"

"…again? But he hasn't even dealt with the Hokage."

"She doesn't matter now. Our primary target has changed; it will be the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. Inform him of this, and pay him what he wants."

"Yes Lord Orochimaru."


	14. Another mission and Ally?

Tsunade smoothed out her Hokage robes, and scratched her back, "This thing is so damn itchy. I don't know how Sensei could stand to wear it all the time. And this hat is going to mess up my hair…" she moaned.

"But I think you look beautiful, Tsunade-sama." replied her counterpart.

Tsunade smiled sarcastically at her subordinate before asking, "Who are these people again?"

Shizune sighed and rolled her eyes, "We don't know. All we know is that the formally requested to talk with the council; so it's only natural to formally meet them."

Tsunade sighed, "Oh well, at least it's not paperwork."

"After the meeting, you have another meeting with an outsider who wishes for asylum, and she wants to become a ninja."

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow, "Oh? Has she passed Ibiki's exam?" Shizune nodded, "and she still wants to become a ninja?" Shizune nodded again. "Okay, but let's do this one thing at a time."

Shizune nodded again and glanced at the clock. "Oh no, you must hurry or else you're going to be late! You can't be late, not for a meeting like this!" she opened the door to the hallway pushing Tsunade out.

"Eh, I don't want to. At least let me leave the stupid hat, what harm could it do?"

Shizune stopped pushing and stomped around in front of Tsunade, pointing a finger in the latter's face. "What harm? You're the Hokage, you need to put your little itching problem aside, and focus on the task at hand." She yelled, with Tsunade start to wither under her finger.

Tsunade 'humph-ed" indignantly and stood up straight, "Fine, but I'm going to go to a bar and unwind after this."

To which Shizune responded with a firm "NO!" and jammed her finger closer to Tsunade's nose.

Tsunade tramped down the hallway, calling back to Shizune, "Hmph, you're no fun anymore." She pushed past two people wearing black and red, "Excuse me, I have _work_ to do" she sneered a little bit at the word.

"When will you grow up?" Shizune said to no one. Just then, she strolled back into the anterior office, noticing that Tsunade's hat had appeared on her desk. Growling, she snatched the hat and took off after her boss.

------------

_This day just keeps getting better and better…_ Tsunade thought to herself, as the two foreign dignitaries took a seat before the council. After the initial introduction, she yielded the floor to the newcomers.

The man stood, or rather, the boy stood, as he couldn't have been older than 20. He and his comrade wore red and black pants, with a black shirt. However you couldn't see much of their shirt, because they wore black samurai armor with red highlights. Both sets of their armor was battered and beaten, however, the man's was worse off by far. His armor was marred by scratches, gashes, and dents. On his right shoulder was a spider-webbing of cracks, a reminder of a blunt impact, and his left arm was slung lifelessly against his armor that coincided with a neat hole on his shoulder. Tsunade made a mental note to check that out for him later. However, his most noticeable features were the scars that festooned his bald head. They rivaled Ibiki's, and underneath his brown eyes were burns marks. But, these burn marks were no battle injuries, they were too neat. There were four two-inch long burn marks on each cheek, much like Naruto's whisker marks.

His female companion's armor was in better condition, but it was still marred by dents and scratches. Tsunade's thoughts were that she had not been in as much combat as he was, due to that fact, and the fact that the girl looked to be about two or three years younger than he was.

"Honored Council," he started "My comrade and I have been sent here to ask for your assistance. Our beloved country has been ravaged by a plague for many years. Our country has been under almost constant attack for the past twenty-three years. We would have asked sooner, but our chieftain was too stubborn to ask for help, and he just passed in battle only recently."

"Who is it that attacks you?" one of the council members asked.

"It is a tribe west of ours. They seem to have no form of government, except for their two rulers, which we have named, The General, and the Queen Mother. We received help seventeen years ago from a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist; however that only stalled them for a few months."

Tsunade nodded towards one of the ANBU guards who were in the room. "Bring me Nara Shikamaru; immediately. Tell him if he doesn't arrive within two minutes, I will personally make sure that he doesn't get to sit down for the next two years."

"In what condition are your forces now?" another council member asked.

He went back to the table and was handed a piece of paper by his comrade. Turning back he read off the figures. "To date, since the first recorded attack, we've lost 89 percent of our shinobi, 72 percent of our armed forces, and 56 percent of our civilian population." Gasps ran through the audience. "That comes out to 1,271 shinobi, 64,000 military personnel, and 174,000 civilians. Our economy has been decimated, and he now only control roughly 10 of our once-held lands."

"What kind of attacks do their shinobi make?"

"That just the thing sir, they have no shinobi." Mutters ran through the gathered elders. "Please believe me. Our shinobi were never taught to fight on such a large scale, and thus we only have limited Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. When they attacked the second time, they completely overran our force that was building a wall to keep them out and we had no warning of their attacks, which have been growing in frequency and ferociousness. The only thing stopping them is a handful of forts strategically placed in mountain passes. We also noticed that they only attack between midday and sundown."

"So they're religious…" a new voice said. Everyone turned to see Shikamaru stooped in the window. "Attacking during a certain time over and over would seem religious to me."

"Can we do it Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked.

"Well, I'd need to know the details, but yes, I believe it could be done."

"You know we could not do this for free." One of the council members said bluntly.

"Of course not." He smiled and went back to the table where his comrade gave him a small wrapped bundle. He strode up to Tsunade and dropped it in front of her with a distinctly heave _clunk._ Tsunade unraveled it and all pairs of eyes, save two, widened.

"Is that…?" one of the council members stammered.

"One-hundred percent solid gold; we have several mines in the mountains, but they were all captured during the early stages of the war. There are ninety-nine more where that came from, and that's the last we have. We have nothing else." He went back and gathered his papers and belongings before turning, bowing and addressing the council one last time. "Honored council, the fate of our country is in your hands." He and his comrade bowed once more and turned to leave.

"Wait, I have one more question." Tsunade said. He turned and looked at her. "Why us? Why didn't you go to Stone or Sand?"

He just smiled and said, "The Mist nin that I told you about earlier…he said that Leaf was the only country to be trusted." And he left with those words hanging in the air.

"Let's do it." One council member said.

"Are you kidding? It would take a massive amount of shinobi to destroy the horde. And, we can't spare anyone, especially with Orochimaru wanting to take a bite out of us." Stated another

" I'm sorry, but were you here for when he put that gold brick in front of us? You know the money problem we're having, and here comes someone with a mission who is willing to pay a ridiculous amount for it, and you're worrying about Orochimaru?"

Tsunade rubbed her temples. "Enough. Let's get a vote started." And thus the debate started.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you know what to do Shikamaru?"

"Yea, yea; I guess I should be thanking you for not sending me on this mission. It's gonna be such a drag…"

"Quit your moping. And get to work." Tsunade said sternly. And with that, she went back into the room amidst loud shouting and arguing.

"Ugh, why me?" he whined to the ceiling. "Oh well, the sooner I get started to sooner I get this over with, and the sooner I can go relax." He left he Hokage tower. "Two hours of arguing in there, and this is what she gives me? Ugh, it's too much work!" he grabbed his head in frustration, and ruffled his hair furiously.

"What's wrong?" a shy voice said from his right.

"Neh?" he looked over to see Hinata. "Oh, it's you. Tsunade-sama gave me a really troubling assignment today."

"Oh." She cast her eyes to the ground. "I hope it's not dangerous."

"Not this time, but my decision maybe made it dangerous, and troublesome." He added.

"Well, I hope everything turns out okay." With that, she bowed and hurried off.

_Huh? What's the deal with her? She seemed so happy and giddy._ He wondered "Women. Whatever." He shoved his hands into his pockets and shuffled off down the street.

------------------

"Ano…your name was?" asked the girl with a slight blush.

"Nara Shikamaru," He droned. _Why meet here? Why the academy? Is it because there's less likely to be a spy in here? _"Whatever…" he said to no one.

"Oh sorry…I didn't mean to upset you." She said meekly.

"Neh, I was just thinking to myself. So, where's your comrade?" he asked hoping to change the subject.

"He should be here shortly. He went to get us some food." It was at that point in time that he decided to burst through the door, hands full of ramen containers, Kazami Itsuki

"AH! This stuff smells so good! I can't wait to dig into it; my mouth has been watering the entire way here! I'm lucky that blonde kid was walking right by me; otherwise I would have never found the place. You know he didn't seem very happy at first, but when I asked him where to eat, he brightened up immediately, and was chatting me up the entire way. He kept going on and on about how much Ichiraku's ramen was so good, so I just had to try some."

"Naruto…"

Itsuki looked at Shikamaru, finally noticing him for the first time. "Oh my, a visitor. I am so sorry for not noticing you earlier." The boy said bowing frantically. "Do you know him?"

"Yea, he a real troublesome guy to hang around, but he's a fellow ninja, a strong one at that…"

"Really? He didn't seem that strong."

"Trust me, when the shit hits the fan, I am glad I'm on his side, and not his enemy."

"Um, if you don't mind," started Sayuri "may I ask why you are here to visit us?"

"Well, there's a stalemate in the council on whether or not to help you, and the Hokage is the deciding vote. And that's where I come in, I'm here to decide if helping you if feasible, and if it is, then I am here to come up with a plan."

"Then, should we get started?" Sayuri asked.

"Ok then." Shikamaru responded. And they got to work discussing the numbers and statistics of the entire war.

------------------------------------------------

After eating lunch with that new kid, and some training, Naruto was feeling much better. His head was clearer, and didn't seem so distracted. Usually during his training, a picture of a blue-haired girl would flash through his mind, and he would lose control of his jutsu long enough for it to backfire on him. He was walking down the street, pondering why this girl kept popping up in his head, when he felt a presence behind him. Stopping, he turned around to look at the presence, and out jumped one of the ANBU.

"A message, from Hokage-sama" and he disappeared.

He opened the letter, and read it. It was a mission request. He was to meet in the council room for a mission, in 5 minutes.

---

Naruto slipped in through the door, and took two steps to his right, leaning on the wall trying to stay in the back as the murmuring quieted down a little when Tsunade stepped up onto the Dias. _A lot of people here; looks like, around 60 shinobi._

"OK, people settle down." Tsunade started as the audience quieted. "This is the first large-scale mission we've had in a long time, so I'll try to be brief. The client has asked us to help stave off an invasion on their land. There will be a lot of large-scale fighting, so remember to brush up on your jutsu. You all leave tomorrow, so say your goodbyes tonight. This mission may take six day, or it may take 6 months; either way, it will be good experience for all of you. After we dismiss, look on the bulletin board across the hall with your team/city assignments. Your team leaders have already been briefed, and they will brief you tomorrow on the way." She looked around, studying their faces. "And, although we expect no enemy ninja to be present, this mission will be classified as an A-ranked mission." She smiled inwardly, seeing most of their faces light up. "Dismissed."

Naruto was glad that he stood right next to the door. He slipped out first and eyeballed the list, and found his name:

_Yamato (Taurina)(pack winter gear):_

_Hyuuga H._

_Uzumaki N._

_Yamanaka I._

Out of curiosity, he searched his team's parallel:

_Hatake K. (Taurina)(pack winter gear):_

_Aburame S._

_Haruno S._

_Rock Lee_

_A medic for each team, Kakashi-sensei's look like it was meant for a large scale battle, whereas mine looks like support, except for me. I wonder why I'm on a support team. Oh well, looks like it's time to go home and get some rest. I wonder if Sasuke will survive. _He smiled to himself. Even if it cost him his life, he knew that he would kill Itachi. He was kind of hoping that they would kill each other. Because he knew that if Sasuke were to kill Itachi, he would come for Naruto next.

---

Naruto threw himself on his bed, feeling physically exhausted, but knowing that he wasn't. His entire body just felt tired. He knew what it was: mentally, he was breaking down, and his body was following. Betraying his friends like this was taking its toll. He turned his head to look at the pair of scrolls on his desk, but eyed the one with a complex set of seals on it on the right more. A feeling of dread was working its way into the core of his stomach. Someone was going to die on this mission; he could feel it in his bones. He put a hand on the storage scroll that contained Hidama. Hidama was going to spill a lot of blood soon.

But, it wasn't the fact that he was going to kill a lot. Killing didn't really bother him. It was who he killed. Sooner or later someone would come for Tsunade. He didn't want her to die. He summoned up a small amount of Kyuubi's power and opened his "Bingo Book," the one that contained his next assignment. As he flipped to the last page, his heart stopped, and his hands started shaking slightly.

Two completely new bounties; one, he completely discarded, as it was for himself. Although he was slightly impressed that Orochimaru had enough money to put an eleven million ryo bounty on him (AN, in a conversion, that's roughly 100,000 dollars). But the other, there was no way that he could complete it. The other one wasn't for a person, it was for her eyes; a second try to an 8 year old quest that Cloud had been trying. Although he could easily kill her and take her eyes to them, there was no way in hell he was going to do that.

Hakumei had become tainted. He knew it was just another job to them, but he didn't like to be used in this way. He felt rage sweep up through him; he felt the need to kill, a lot. Barely restraining it, he told it, _S__oon. Soon you, no, we, will kill them, and many others._ He felt the voice inside smile, with an evil glee at the prospect of being partially let out. _Hinata-chan will not die by my hand or anyone else's. She will die of old age, after raising many children. _He smiled to himself and lay down on his bed, the feeling of dread gone, replaced by a warm fuzzy feeling. He didn't know what the feeling was, but it seemed to come up every time he thought about or saw Hinata. He made a mental note to ask her about it on the following day.

---------------------------

"Another summons?" Naruto whined to himself looking at the note that was slipped under his door in the night. He got up, showered, and was out the door in fifteen minutes and at the Hokage's door in another five. He entered, and showing Shizune his letter he walked in.

"You asked for me?" he asked Tsunade, who was sitting behind her desk, and noticing the other figure, who had her obviously female body turned away from him.

"Yes, Naruto; this girl wants to enter the village as a ninja." She motioned to the girl, who turned her head to look at him. He immediately recognized her eyes; one red, one blue, underneath her jet black hair that fell straight down to the middle of her shoulder blades. _Number Six. _She wore a mesh undershirt that went halfway up her chest and down to her elbows and stopped above her navel, with a plain dark blue tank top. She wore black tights that went down to her knees, which was topped by a skirt that resembled Sakura's in a way, except it was white. Her kunai pouch was on her left thing, and on her right arm was a glove that had a metal plate on the back of her hand and a piece of black armor that covered her right forearm. In his eyes she was as beautiful as Sakura, if not more. No doubt within a few weeks she would have quite a following. Not to mention a lustful Kiba sniffing around behind her.

"Well, I'm not the Hokage yet, so why do you need my seal of approval?"

"Well, I just thought that you should know she's like you."

"…"

"A Jinchuuriki," Naruto sneered at the mention of the word.

"Jinchuuriki… what a stupid name; I would prefer to call us…Koufuku (blessed)." He turned to the girl, "So, whose container are you?"

"Yamata no Orochi, the Eight-tailed Snake. You?"

"And I thought the voice in my head was bad. I'm the container of Kyuubi no Yoko." Her eyes widened at the mention of the name. He turned back to Tsunade, "So why am I here again?"

"I just thought that you should know that she's gong to be a Leaf ninja soon. Once we run her through tests to see how strong she is, have Jiraiya take a look at her seal..."

"Tsunade-same… Jiraya's dead remember?" Naruto clarified, looking even more depressed.

Tsunade reflected his visage as she looked at her desk. "That's right, I completely forgot. I still can't believe that the old pervert died." She smiled a bit, "You know, we should have buried him next to the hot springs."

Naruto brightened up and laughed. "Yes, he would have loved that. And he left his research completely unfinished…" he trailed off, gauging his leader's reaction. Needless to say, judging by the way her face turned red, and veins bulged out from under her skin, he could tell she was not happy at that prospect. "I'm just saying that I've already published one book under his name, so I thought that I might continue his legacy as a tribute to him." He smiled meekly.

Tsunade sighed. "Damn you brat. Fine, do whatever you want, but make sure you put a tribute page in each book, otherwise I'll beat you into a pulp, and then let Sakura know what you're writing.

Naruto laughed nervously, "He he, I _really _wouldn't want that now. Ok fine, you got me." he put his hands up in resignation.

"Anyways, as I was saying, I'll have Kakashi, or one of the elders take a look at her seal, and then evaluate her mentally."

"That's great. We could always use another one of us here. I'm sure you'll be quite happy." He smiled at the girl, and then turned serious. "Just don't mention it to the villagers that you're the container of something. They don't really like us."

Her expression turned dark as well. "So, it's the same here as it was in my old village."

"It's not so bad," Tsunade answered, "I'm sure that you will find that most ninja don't really care about Bijuu containers that much, due to Naruto here. You'll actually find most of them quite friendly. I have one question though. You're eyes; is that because of a bloodline, or is that because of the snake?"

She smiled a little bit. "Neither, it's just a genetic defect. It really does seem to upset some people, but I don't mind. Ignorant people seem to be upset by the unknown." Naruto nodded to himself. "So, when if my first evaluation?"

"We'll let you get settled in first and tomorrow we'll start your physical evaluation." Tsunade smiled.

"Ano…will Naruto be showing me my lodgings?" she asked, trying to sneak a look at him with a slight blush, which Naruto caught, of course.

Tsunade smirked "Not exactly. I just wanted him to know that there was another person like him in the village, so he wouldn't feel so alone; maybe to have one more reason to make the village seem a little brighter. Unfortunately he has a mission which will require him for a while."

The girl was obviously disappointed. "I guess that's the life of a ninja."

"So it is." Tsunade said redundantly. "I'll have a Chunin come for you in a minute to show you where you will be staying."

"I have to be leaving soon anyways. So I'll walk her out to the front door, okay?" Tsunade smiled, nodded, and they left.

----

Sighing, Tsunade got back to her paperwork. She knew Naruto could handle himself against a bunch of savages, but for the council to pressure for him to go on a suicide mission was rather evil of them. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little happier that Naruto had someone to relate to now. Maybe they would become more than friends. She would like for nothing more for that boy to find someone to share the rest of his life with. Lately, Hinata and Naruto have been getting closer; she could only hope that this new girl wouldn't get in between them.

She sighed once more and glanced out the window and slapped herself on the forehead._ This boy is going to be the death of me._ She looked at the Hokage Monument once again, eyeing the words painted onto the spot to the right of her head: "This spot reserved for Rokudaime Uzumaki Naruto!" _Oh well, at least he's acting like he used to. Maybe the Naruto we once knew is coming back. But now I'm going to have to punish him on top of the Sasuke incident. I need a drink. _She reached down to her emergency Sake bottle strapped under her chair, and pulled it out; only to find a scroll in her hands, with a small piece of paper hanging off the side.

_Your chakra will unlock it._

_Uzumaki N._

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" She funneled her chakra into the scroll. With a faint hissing sound, the seal dissipated and she opened it. The right side of the page was slightly singed. At the top right was a seal that she recognized as a storage seal, and then a few pages of crisp, clean writing, something she had never expected of the ninja:

_Godaime Hokage Tsunade-sama:_

_First off, forgive me for removing your sake bottle, and the Monument. I knew you would reach for this once you saw what I did._

_Secondly, you may have realized that I was not acting like myself lately. This was mainly due to the fact that I have been coercing with a secret organization on my own accord. After Jiraiya-sensei died, I was a wreck. I found an old man who happened to be a part of an organization called Hakumei, that seemed to parallel the Akatsuki. Now, before you freak out and go call the ANBU on me, please listen to my reasoning, and all of the information._

_This man trained me. He used to be the sensei of a boy from the Village hidden in the Mist. Unfortunately, that boy was killed by Momoichi Zabuza, and my sensei forsook his village to live on an island, the very island I washed up on after a shipwreck. After training me, sometimes almost to the brink of death, he brought me to his peers. The leader, who goes by Number One, told me of the organizations goals and objectives. They parallel Akatsuki in the sense, that they want the Nine. But, at first they told me that it was only to draw out the Akatsuki in hopes to crush them. I still do not know the identity of Number One, nor do I know the Identity of Number Two, but I do know the Identities and capabilities of the other three members, excluding myself. _

_The first thing that I was told was that they were the ones who raised the Bijuu from the depths of the earth. From their scrolls, it seems as though, in the ancient days, wars ravaged our planet again and again, until one civilization created the biological weapon known as Shukaku, sacrificing an entire nation of people to create it. Country after country strived to make these Bijuu, until the nine were created. At the birth of Kyuubi, he decided that the human race was not worth saving, so he made a promise to destroy the human race to the last newborn…_the writing changed style and became even more elegant…_I wanted to destroy the human race because the only emotion they ever displayed was greed. Whether for oil, or money, they never showed the capacity for understanding, compassion, or selflessness. I thought that I had destroyed the humans, however I was wrong. I sealed myself away and waited for a new race to become dominant and hopefully it would learn from the human's mistakes. How wrong I was. I was reawakened in hopes on the humans wanting me to become a living weapon again. So once again I deemed the human race unfit for living; until I met your Yondaime Hokage. He sacrificed himself to seal me away inside his son._ Small wet spots appeared, smearing the writing somewhat. _Being inside this boy for a decade and a half has taught me something; that I can't judge everyone by the actions of the few. This body was beaten to the brink of death more times than I care to remember, but he has shown no malice towards anyone. He masks his pain in an effort to cheer up those around him. This is what humanity should be. If only your entire race were just like this boy, think of the possibilities. I will give control back to Naruto now, as he wants to finish his story._ The writing changed back into Naruto's handwriting.

_I am known as Number Three, and I got that way by killing the previous Number Three upon my induction test. I, along with my teacher became the Shadow Fox, the assassin that you no doubt head of. This is the reason why he seemed to be everywhere at once. As a part of this organization I did assassinations and other types of missions, until I came to a mission that I received a few weeks ago. I received a contract to kill Sasuke, but worse, you. However, I was denied the contract to kill you because they deemed me too close to you, and figured that I wouldn't have the heart to do it. Well, they were right. That's one of the reasons you have this scroll in your possession right now. However, there are spies inside Konhagakure. Number Two has contacted me inside our very walls. However, that was a while ago, so organizing a search would only alert them to the fact that I tipped you off. Hakumei recently gave me another mission: To protect the container of the Eight-tailed Snake. She is known as Number Six, although she doesn't seem like a bad person, she just wanted to be left alone. This is one mission I would rather not fail, because she IS just like me, hated and alone. I want to be there for her._

_The mission with Sasuke was a long time coming. I know my mission was to kill him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I guess I figured that his life was too pitiful for me to extinguish. His burning desire for revenge, had turned his soul as black as Gamabunta's oil, and had twisted him into more of a monster than I could ever be. So I gave him what he wanted; Itachi. After Kyuubi and I defeated Itachi's Tsukiyomi (yes I beat it. Let's just say that his willpower is nothing compared to Kyuubi's), I decided not to kill him, and let him fight his brother. Best case scenario, they kill each other, for I know that, even if he were to die, Sasuke would gladly take his brother with him to hell. Worst case, for me, Sasuke kills Itachi, and comes for me to obtain his own Mangekyou Sharingan. Worst case for you and me, Itachi wins and still comes for me with reinforcements to steal Kyuubi._

Here there was different writing; newer and darker. It was apparent that he wrote this several days later.

_Last night I received my final mission from the Hakumei. It was for Hinata-chan's eyes. This was the final straw, and I finally decided to forsake them and their ways. So this brings me to my final points._

_If you are receiving this then one of a few things are in motion._

_1. I have died and want you to have as much information as possible, because I love you like a mother, and I want you to live as long as you can, looking as young as you do._

_2. I am on my way to die. I understand the council would like nothing more than to see me fall on the battlefield. Although I don't think that they would go so far as to send one of our own to see that an "accident" happens, but no doubt that they would not qualm at the thought of sending me on a suicide mission._

_3. Finally, and most likely. I am leaving the village. I will leave on this mission and not return until I destroy Hakumei and their scrolls, so that no one may ever raise a Bijuu from the depths of the earth._

_Thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you, and I always will love you. I truly hope I can come back so I can enjoy life with the family that I came to realize that I had; Mother Baa-chan, Father Jiraiya, Sandaime oji-san, Kakashi jii-san, Sakura ne-chan, the others, and Hinata. Mostly Hinata, Sorry baa-chan, but she stole all the room in my heart._

_Re-reading this, I finally noticed the part that Kyuubi wrote. It breaks my heart to have him have to tell you the entire story about the first fall of humanity. But, I promise, I won't let a second fall happen._

_Goodbye (hopefully not the final one)_

_Uzumaki Naruto_

_Future Hokage of Konoha_

She finally realized that she had been crying while she was reading. "That boy has grown up so much." She started sobbing full out. Drawn by the noise, Shizune came in, concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"When did he grow up? And why wasn't I there to see it? Oh, I'm so horrible!" Tsunade sobbed into her elbow.

"What?" Tsunade handed her the letter, composing herself slightly. By the time Shizune was finished, she was crying too. "He did grow up. But we should be happy. He's grown into a fine young man."

Tsunade smiled, "That he did."

Shizune pouted a little bit, "How come he didn't mention me in there?" Tsunade just wiped away her tears and started laughing.

---------------------

"So, when did you get here?"

"About three days ago."

"How good are you? Without depending on your Bijuu for power."

"I don't know. I've never fought without using him before. I guess I'm not all that strong without him."

"You know, a Jinchuuriki without power of his or her own, is nothing more than the beast with a different body. You aren't the beast are you?"

"Of course not!" she shouted at him.

"Then you should learn to control its power, but keep it in check with your own. That way, you will show everyone that you control the demon, and not the other way around. By the way, I didn't catch your name…"

She smiled at him and blushed a little, "Naganashi Yatsumi."

"So, I finally get to me you, Naganashi Yatsumi…Number Six." Her eyes widened, "…Not what you expected?"

"You're nothing like I expected."

"I hope that's in a good way." He smiled.

"Very good; I expected someone cold and indifferent, and older." She said still shocked.

"Well, they don't call me the Number One Unpredictable Ninja for nothing." He smiled at her again. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go meet my team for my mission. I'll see you when I get back, okay?" she nodded dumbly. "Ja ne!" and he disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

"He's amazing…"

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Yo!" Naruto waved as he appeared on top of the gate kiosk above the two gathered teams.

Ino seethed, "You know you're late…even later than Kakashi-sensei…"

"Yea I had to go help a lady re-paint her mansion, and then some kids stole her paint, so I had to track them down…"

"Liar…that was his excuse…" Ino seethed.

"He he, you caught me. So, I'm ready to get this mission underway…" Naruto said changing the subject.

Yamato said, "Right, some of you know me, and some don't, so I'm Yamato, and I'll be your team leader for this mission. Now let's get going and I'll fill you in on the way."

And with that, they sped off into the forest.


	15. the Fourth Tail Appears!

**Thanks for giving me reviews guys. It's really the only thing that's keeping me from abandoning this FF. The only thing a writer hates more than Writers' Block, is writing for a fan base that isn't there. There's just no encouragement. **

**So, please keep the reviews coming. Even a "good job" would suffice. **

**A BIG thanks to those of you who gave me good reviews. Those really helped me, throwing me ideas like that. I really appreciate them. Keep them coming please!**

As the two teams leapt along the tree branches, Yamato briefed them. "Our target country is a country to the west of Sand and Rock. Naturally we'll be going through Sand country to get there. They've been under attack for the past twenty years, and we're here to stop them. Team Kakashi will protect their northern-most forts within the mountain range that splits their country in two. From there my team will conduct raids into their territory to find their leader and kill her. There are two targets, the General, and the Queen Mother. We are to find and kill them."

"That sounds easy enough, especially if there aren't any enemy ninja." Naruto said.

"Tsunade said that the enemy forces number in the hundreds of thousands; if what the dignitaries said is correct."

"Really, that many?" asked Hinata.

"Now for speed and secrecy issues, we'll be traveling separately and rendezvous at our designated fort. Good luck Kakashi-sempai."

"Yosh! Let us go show the vagabonds the flames of our youth!"

"You too." Kakashi said, ignoring Lee, and they left.

Sweat-dropping Naruto stated, "It doesn't matter," as he turned and smiled at Hinata, "We're ninja, we'll be fine. And don't worry, I'll protect you."

Hinata looked at him stunned, then turned away blushing furiously. Ino overheard this and maneuvered next to Hinata. "So, is there something you're not telling me?"

Hinata looked at her stunned, "N-no."

"Well, it finally looks as if he cares about you now. Too bad, I classified him as boyfriend material once, but he shot me down."

"Really?"

"Yea, although he gave me the impression that he was into someone else." Seeing her opportunity to take a shot at Hinata she said, "Come to think of it, he said something about that person being you."

Hinata's eyes widened and blushed to her max. She had to control herself or else she'd faint and fall right into a tree. "Wouldn't that be wonderful though?" Her thoughts wandered, thinking of what it would be like to have him take her into his arms, comforting her and protecting her.

-----

The day dragged on and ended without incident. That night Yamato created a log house for them to "camp out" in. He addressed the team gathered around the candle-lit oil pan.

"Just a warning, tomorrow might get complicated. As you know, tomorrow we'll be heading through Rain Country. Rain Country has been embroiled in a civil war for the past few years and we do not want to get caught up in it. To that effect, there shall be absolutely no training at all until the mission is complete. Also, and even more disturbing, are reports that Rain country is home to Akatsuki." Naruto looked from Yamato's face to the fire, feeling the three sets of eyes boring into him, expecting some form of a response.

"Well, we can always practice hiding our chakra signature." He offered.

"That's a good idea." Yamato said. "But, for tonight I figured that we would introduce ourselves to each other to get a feel for each other's habits, and each other's strengths and weaknesses; otherwise we would not work well as a single unit. So, who wants to start?"

Naruto sighed and raised his hand, "I'll go first. Okay, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Yoko, and my elemental affinity is wind. I am a Genin, mostly because I haven't been able to take the exam again. I am mainly a close-range offensive fighter, although I have one extremely powerful long-range attack that is capable of leveling entire cities. Other than the one attack, my medium-range is average, and my long-range is mediocre at best. I have been well trained in the arts of assassination and covert movements. I have a chakra level beyond almost all, if not every shinobi in Konoha. During my four year absence, I was trained in the water and wind elements, and have even gone so far as to be able to use a combination of the two to create ice." This revelation solicited a smile from Yamato. Naruto unstrapped Hidama's scabbard from his belt, unsheathed her, and lay her down in front of him so everyone could see. The light from the candle, played across her blade giving it an odd glow. "This is Hidama. It is said that she was forged from the metal of a fallen star, hence the name. It is also said that this, being well over three-hundred years old, is one of the first weapons capable of sustaining a chakra flow; meaning that if I push my chakra into it, it will channel my chakra in a never ending circle, requiring an extremely small amount of chakra to replace bleed-off. I can use this ability to destroy anything from the inside out using my wind affinity."

"That is a beautiful blade you have there. And odd shape, with the recurved tip and the two spars, and especially the hand grip in between the spars." Yamato said, getting nods of stunned agreement from the two women in the room. "May I ask where you got it?"

"Of course." Naruto smiled at his decorum even in this place. "I was on a mission from my sensei to kill a warlord in the north. He won this sword in battle from his former superior and so on in that fashion. He was an honorable man, although he did some bad things. He was one of the first to show me light in the darkness that I knew, but I didn't follow. So I killed him in honest combat and he presented me with this sword." Naruto chuckled. "He said this sword was cursed and brought nothing but death and destruction to whoever wielded it. But, we'll see. I'm not great in the way of Kenjutsu, but I would be fairly confident against most sword users."

He put a hand up to his chin in a thoughtful manner, "Hmmm, what else. Oh yes, I no longer rush into a fight with a yell and a cocked fist. I HATE long winded speeches by conceited enemies; I figure that talk is irrelevant in a battle. OH yea, I almost forgot my Jinchuuriki abilities. I can fully control Kyuubi's chakra all the way up to three tails. And can control four tails, although I can only do that for a short time, before his bloodlust gets to me. With his sealing, I get an uncanny healing ability." He smiled and looked and Ino and Hinata, "No doubt you guys have seen it by now. And unfortunately, when I access his powers, it seems as if the red chakra forms a shell around me, protecting me, when actually it does the opposite. It constantly erodes away at me, only the extreme healing ability that comes with it, makes it seem like I can't be killed while in my 'Kyuubi form'. The most tails that I've ever gone up to was four, and as my sensei said, I became 'quite inhuman; a raging beast born to destroy.' The chakra was so great and terrible that it started to rip away my skin. I've only done it once, trust me, being flayed alive isn't a good feeling. Anyways, he said that the blood and chakra condensed around me, until I was a mere skeleton for the form of the Four-tailed Kyuubi. Basically, I turned into a mini Kyuubi. It was only then was I able to unleash the Ki Blast, as I have come to call it."

"This is…interesting news." Yamato said, eyeing his teammates.

Naruto turned to look at the girls, "I hope you aren't afraid of me now, I can keep it in check for quite some time, and have never consciously let myself go into the power. But anyway, that is part of the reason why Yamato-taichou is here, isn't he?" he looked at Yamato out of the corner of his eye.

Yamato nodded, "You're right Naruto-kun, my abilities allow me to create wood, by mixing my water and earth chakra affinities. I also have an ability to control the demons' chakra. This was the reason of why I was chosen to be Naruto's Taichou; now, who else?"

"I guess I'll go." Ino mumbled. "My name is Yamanaka Ino, I am a Chuunin and I don't know my elemental affinity. I mostly specialize in the mind jutsu that my clan uses. I am also a competent med-nin. I have a reasonable ninjutsu and taijutsu, but I am mostly a support fighter."

"Very good; now, your turn." Yamato pointed at Hinata.

"Ano, my name is Hyuuga Hinata." She started meekly, "I am a Chuunin. I don't know many ninjutsu as my clan only uses our taijutsu that we developed along with out bloodline, the Byakugan. I know some medical jutsu, and can see through most Genjutsu. But I am not that strong when it comes to large scale battles."

"I'm sure you'll do fine Hinata." Yamato said. "I think that's good for tonight, lets all get some rest so we can be fresh tomorrow." Greeted by nods, everyone started to get ready for bed. Hinata dove into her sleeping mat, while Ino set herself gently down. Yamato was even getting ready, putting all his weapons aside so he didn't get poked in the night, when he saw Naruto strapping Hidama to his side and moving to the door.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned and looked at him, "I'll go take first watch." He went to the door and opened it, but was stopped by Yamato's question.

"Do you want to talk about it, or do you want to be alone?"

Naruto hesitated in the doorway. Then, after a minute he looked back over his shoulder at the three people looking slightly worriedly at him. "Do whatever." And he left.

-------

Naruto sat on the roof of the house, holding Hidama in her scabbard so that the tip was on the roof and the pommel was up behind his head. He stared into the ground forty feet away. Then he felt it, barely, even though it was only five feet away. He smiled to himself. "You're getting good at that." He turned and looked at Hinata who was standing beside him, smiling that insanely beautiful smile of hers. He decided to try and lighten the mood, "Did you draw the short straw?" She frowned at him, and then after a minute, she started to giggle. She held out a wooden splinter. He took it and started to chuckle himself, louder and louder until it turned into a full blown laughing fit.

When he finally calmed down, he wiped the tears away and looked at her. She had now sat down beside him, slightly blushing, and looking away from him at the moon. "Did Yamato-taichou tell you why we were put on a team together?" she looked at him confused. "I'll admit, I was confused as well in the beginning, I had no clue why I was put with two medical ninjas. Then it hit me, our team is the one that supposed to find the targets."

Her eyes widened, "You mean; we'll be attacking _them_?" she said, with a little fear in her voice.

"In a way." He answered, "We'll be infiltrating, probably to gather Intel and try to learn of the location of their two leaders. Hopefully, they'll never discover that we were there and we should only have to kill a soul." He paused checking himself, "Well, maybe only two souls."

"Naruto-kun, why are you so depressed? You don't eat much anymore, and you hardly ever sleep. I want to know what's wrong with you so I can help."

Naruto sighed and rubbed his temples. "Remember that book I showed you, the one where I get my assignments?" She nodded, "Well I got a new assignment the other day. It was for you." She gasped. "Kumo wants you, badly. It was at that time when I had had it with Hakumei. That is why I am leaving to take the fight to them. I cannot let Konoha become a battleground for a fight that is purely mine alone." Looking at her, he said "You understand don't you?"

Shaking her head and wiping her tears she screamed, "NO! I don't understand. Why do you think you have to fight these battles alone? Why can't we fight them together? Why do you keep pushing me away?" she quieted down to a whisper, "Why won't you love me?" she whispered more to herself than to him. However, realizing what she said, she looked at him quickly and then looked away, blushing fiercely. She got up to run away, but was stopped by Naruto grabbing her arm.

"You're wrong." He looked into her still crying eyes; eyes full of confusion. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, and enjoyed the look on her face as he brought his closer.

----

Hinata froze. She didn't know what to do. Her breathing shallowed as Naruto's face drew nearer. _Is this it? Is this finally the time where he kisses me? Oh, I really hope this isn't another dream. He so close I can feel the warmth from his body heat. OH MY, HE IS REALLY GOING TO KISS ME!! _She mentally squealed with joy as their lips met. It was like an explosion tore through her. After waiting for so long, and imagining what it would be like for so long, she finally realized that she had no clue what she was imagining. Those dreams didn't come close to the feeling she got.

It was like she was being electrocuted, but in a wonderfully pleasant way. Her body filled with warmth and she moaned into his mouth. His kiss was tender, yet slightly firm, as if he had been waiting for this moment also. She just stood there, not wanting to do anything, until she found herself wanting more. She took her arms off his and wrapped them around his head, crushing his face into her, deepening the kiss. She didn't know how, or when, but their tongues started dancing around each other within their mouths.

She spent the next few minutes memorizing every nook and cranny in his mouth, as well as his taste. When he pulled away she finally realized that she had been crying throughout the experience. He simply smiled and wiped the moisture off her cheeks. "How can you say that I won't love you?"

She felt the tears returning, "But why do you always have to leave, why won't you stay with me?"

He sighed again, "I would love to do that, but there are too many factors. Akatsuki, Hakumei…" he chuckled, "…your father, the council, Orochimaru. Too many people out there want me dead for me to give you the love you deserve. I'll always be leaving, and I don't want you to feel sad when I leave."

She cupped his cheek in her hand, "I'll always feel sad when you leave, but I'll always feel overjoyed when you return. If you don't leave, then we'll still have those moments when you're still in the village with me. We'll have those days of peace in between the fighting where we can be with each other. Come back with me."

He smiled and sighed at her, "You just aren't going to make this easy for me are you?" she shook her head. "Fine. Look, whatever happens on this mission I will return to Konoha with you, but you must realize at some time I will have to leave to deal with these people. Otherwise you will be in constant danger." He smiled at her and held up a finger. "And that's favor number one." He said as he pulled her in for another hug.

On the fourth day, they reached a city in ruins. The only thing left standing was a stone structure in the middle of the town. All of the wooden buildings had been burned down. Cries and moans of injured people littered the air.

"We have to do something…" Hinata said quietly.

"And what do you suggest we do?" Naruto asked. She looked at him surprised that he would say such a cold-hearted thing. "I'm not trying to sound mean, just think logically. We're on an important mission, and although these people need our help, we cannot stop to help them. Healing takes too much chakra and since we're in enemy territory, we need to be in tip-top from here on out. I'm sorry, but this is how it must be."

Hinata nodded and looked away, defeated.

"He's right. Let's keep moving; we're only a day away." Yamato said, and they disappeared back into the trees.

--------------

"Hinata…" Naruto said as he moved closer to her. "I wanted to help those people just as badly as you did, we just couldn't do it. I would not sacrifice any of us for any of them. If we were to stop and help them, not only could more people die up north, more of our friends could die. The longer we take, the more people die."

"I know…" she said dejectedly. "I just want to help anyone and everyone I can."

"I know; that's one of the things that I like about you. You care more about others than you do yourself." She blushed smiling slightly at his obvious praise. He started sniffing, catching a scent on the air.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"Blood, lots of blood; we must be getting close!" he yelled up to the front. Yamato turned his head and nodded. That's when they busted through the trees onto a plateau overlooking a mountain pass. Two hundred-yards away, they saw the fort, as it was the only thing in the valley not moving. The fort consisted of two parts, one northern section, and one southern section, connected by a walled gate. Soldiers lined the long wall that spanned the entire length of the valley, pouring arrows down into the sea of semi-clothed savages.

The men were clothed in naught but animal skins, with claws on their hands and wrists. They had ladders up on the walls and were in the process of scaling them. On the north section the enemy had breached the wall and was fighting the defenders back into the courtyard, where they had pikes set up to momentarily halt the enemy's advance. There were bodies of the enemy strewn about, but the defenders were getting crushed by the sheer weight of men.

"We have to help them. They're going to die!" Ino shouted above the din of clashing metal.

"Kakashi-sempai's team hasn't arrived yet, there's nothing we can do. We aren't suited for fighting this many people." Yamato countered.

"But we have to do something. It IS our mission to help them." Ino retorted.

Yamato sighed. "Very well then; Hinata and Naruto, you skirt the outer edge of their army and get in the southern section, Ino and I will reinforce the northern section."

"Yamato-sensei, may I put in my strategy first?" Naruto offered.

After hesitating a minute Yamato said, "Quickly."

"Have Hinata and Ino recapture the northern section, you reinforce the southern section, while I eliminate the main body."

"Can you really do that?" Yamato asked suspiciously.

Naruto nodded, "I can; Kage Bunshin, remember?" Yamato nodded.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata started, but was halted by Ino's hand on her shoulder.

"He has to do this. Please be careful Naruto."

He flashed her one of his smiles. "Hey it's me!"

"That's what I'm afraid of." She mumbled as she gave him a quick hug and went to the edge of the steep mountain.

Hinata blushed furiously and went to hug him as well. "Please be careful, and don't get hurt. Come back to me." she whispered in his hear.

He broke away and nodded at her. Hinata activated her Byakugan and slid down the hill alongside Ino, while looking back at Naruto the entire time, a deep feeling in her gut that this would be the last time she saw him, and wanting to burn his image into her mind forever. Then that feeling turned to a warm fuzzy feeling that coursed itself through her veins, giving her strength. His lips moved, and due to her Byakugan being activated, she read his lips. _You're a strong woman…and that's why I love you too._ Tears stung her eyes as this was probably would have been the happiest time in her life, had they not been in a battle. She promised herself to live, so she focused completely on skirting the outer edge of the maniacal men attacking the fort.

---

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Naruto flashed a smile, "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me; I have some pretty cool tricks up my sleeve." He said seeming quite pleased with himself.

"Very well, then. Be careful, Naruto-kun." And with that, Yamato leapt off towards the besieged fort.

Naruto turned back towards the wreathing mass of bodies below him. "Hmm, what to do. Let's see, Combo Number Thirty-two, or Thirteen? Hmmm……" he slapped himself on the cheeks a few times. "Aw, whatever, ill just do 'em both, **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" a few dozen Narutos appeared next to him. "Guys, let's start with Thirteen, then we'll do Twenty-three is that doesn't work.

He was answered with a unanimous "Hai!"

The clones and Naruto pulled out various needles from his wrist canisters and shuriken from his thigh holster. They all launched their weapons into the air, shouting, "**Kage Shuriken/Senbon no Jutsu**!" the hundreds of weapons multiplied even further, raining death upon the host massed below him, slaying even more. A few of his clones ran through sets of hand seals and mumbled, "**Suiton: Bakusui** **Shōha(Water Style: Exploding Water Shockwave)". **

After they finished spitting out huge amounts of water and soaking the area, he and one other clone made a complex series of seals saying in unison,** "Hyoton: Aisu Arashi no Jutsu(Ice Storm Jutsu)." **Water droplets rose into the air, hovering a few feet before they froze into razor sharp shards of ice. With a grunt he sent the ice flying into the mass of men, and was answered with screams of pain. However, for every man he slew, another took his place.

He dispelled all his clones, save one. He nodded to his doppelganger, and said "Thirteen." Answered with a nod, they both flashed through hand seals.

"**Katon: Karyuuendan (****Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)!"**

"**Fuuton: Daitoppa (****Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!"**

Naruto's Fire Dragon exploded out towards the army bolstered by the wind jutsu. The dragon, roaring, blazed a path through the army, cutting off 85 percent of the army, leaving only a few in front to assail the fort.

"Fine; time to get up close and personal." He said as he put up his commonly used cross-shaped seal. "**Tajuu** **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." With that said, hundreds of clones appeared next to him on the ridge. They silently unsheathed their swords and charged down the hill.

-----------------

Hinata watched as the fire dragon raced across the valley, killing hundreds. She and Ino had fought off the invaders, and were now evacuating the wounded and watching Naruto and his handiwork.

"Man, he sure is something isn't he?" Ino stated. Hinata nodded. "Makes me wonder where the orange-wearing idiot went to." Ino looked at Hinata wryly, "Speaking of which, what happened between you two the other night?" Hinata blushed and looked down at the ground. Ino's smile grew even more, "You two got together didn't you?" Hinata nodded slightly, smiling. "About time that idiot finally realized your feelings. Even a blind man could see how much you cared for him."

"He knew."

"Huh?"

"He had always known how I felt about him. He told me that."

"WHAT?!" Ino's eyes bulged and a vein popped out in her head.

"He just told, me that he couldn't return my feelings. He kept saying that he was going to die soon and didn't want to get close to anyone."

"And what did you say?"

"That I would always love him, and would wait for him. I asked him why he wouldn't love, me, and…he kissed me." Ino just stared at her for a few seconds, and then she squealed latching onto Hinata, hugging her and jumping up and down.

"Oh I can't wait 'till Sakura hears this. This is going to blow her mind." Hinata just kept smiling and hugging Ino.

---------

The monotonous hacking and slashing was starting to get on his nerves. Covered in blood, Naruto and his clones were cutting a swath through the enemy's amoeba-like army. Cut off this guy's head here, followed by a stab through the chest of another, pull the sword out, while simultaneously spinning and beheading another two. This went on for half an hour before he got his first wound.

This man was dressed a little more ornately then his brethren. A pair of horns adorned his head along with some kind of animal-skin sash. His claws weren't made of bone, but of metal. Naruto didn't see him coming before he took a trio of slashes across his right arm, severing one of his senbon canisters. With a cry of pain, he turned to the enemy and ran him through on his sword, frustrated. However his second of hesitation scored him another pair of slashes that severed the straps holding his back plate on him, dropping it to the ground, followed by a pair of slashes across his back.

"Dammit!" he grunted in pain, a little of Kyuubi's chakra started seeping into his system, changing into a more feral Naruto. A clone popped in front of him and he jumped on its back a launched himself into the air while flying through hand seals and crying, **"****Fuuton: Renkuudan ****(Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!" **His chest bulged and he shot out a trio of air bullets at the ground he was previously standing on, leveling out anybody within fifty feet of his landing zone.

He landed, only to land on top of a sword, which impaled his foot. "Oops." He said wincing and pulling it out. _They just keep coming. _More of Kyuubi's chakra entered his system as he sheathed his sword, healing his injuries. The chakra allowed no one to get within 5 feet of Naruto, as he brought out one tail.

-------

Yamato watched from the ramparts of the wooden fort. Having beaten back the enemy, they now focused their attention on the solitary figure that had cut a swath into their mob, which now resembled a large C. _That's definitely the chakra of the Demon Fox. More of it is replacing his normal chakra and turning into the demon fox's form. _He turned back towards the defenders, "I'm going out there to help my teammate; you should be fine for now." Without even waiting for an answer he leapt from the wall dashing towards the lone figure in the distance.

-------

Yamato neared as an unearthly roar exploded from Naruto's throat as the air seemed to get heavier and heavier. Yamato considered putting the seal on him now, but Naruto wouldn't want that. He watched Naruto undergo his transformation. His hair grew ragged and longer, his whisker marks lengthened and darkened. His blood-red slitted eyes gazed over the men in front of him each holding back, not wanting to attack. He looked them over until he saw a figure standing on a stone about two hundred yards from him. His eyes went wide as he recognized the figure, standing in his black robe, with the dark green rope belt. His mouth went to a snarl as more of Kyuubi's chakra entered his system. His eyebrow's furrowed and he growled, "_**You…**_" Two more tails bubbled to the surface, lengthening his whisker marks even more until they were solid black, lengthening his fangs, the markings around his eyes became even more pronounced, and his eyes turned white. "_**I'm gonna tear you apart.**_" He managed, while the Chakra tails whipped around him, skewering men, and cutting them in twain by the dozens.

The chakra grew so much that Yamato was forced to back away another 50 feet. _This is insane._ _I can't let him keep going on like this. _Yamato's thoughts were interrupted by a gigantic explosion of chakra; Naruto had disappeared leaving cracked ground where he had once stood. There was a tunnel carved through the men, and Naruto had crossed the distance between him and the man on the stone in less than a second.

--------

"Hmm, I knew that your girlfriend would be here, but I never expected you."

"_**So, you're here for Hinata-chan?"**_

"As well as the mountains full of gold that lay in this country; our organization needs money. And this is one way to get a lot of it. You had better watch how you talk to me; one might think you were being insolent." The man said, as he pulled back his hood, revealing his face. He looked like he was in his seventies, with very short wispy white hair. He blinked revealing two sliver-colored eyes, three overlapping circles orbiting his pupil. "So that's it. You _have_ deserted us. I have to say, that Number One will be very unhappy."

"_**Number One won't know about this because you are going to die here. Now, get out of my head!" **_he yelled as he blasted a wave of chakra at Number Two, throwing him back against the ground. He leapt after him plunging his hand into his chest, only to find that it was full of mud. He yelled at the sky, a fourth tail started bubbling it way out of the shroud that he was encased in. He had to kill something, and what better way than to destroy this petty army? After another explosion of chakra, his skin started to sizzle off of him encircling him in black smoke.

------

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata breathed as she saw the smoke from Naruto's location. She could see the foul chakra swirling around him through her Byakugan. "Please, be careful."

------

Yamato looked at Naruto in his new form. The reddish-black chakra completely covered Naruto from head to toe. His new "body" was a mixture of chakra and blood, as the chakra was eating away at him faster that it could heal him. The wind was whipping in his face so he had to back away even more. "N-Naruto…" he said to himself. Then the beast looked straight at him. He felt a tingle go up and down his spine, along with a bead of sweat rolling down him temple. It nodded. He sighed inwardly, but was still on his guard. The creature that was Naruto scanned the valley, looking into the faces that now stared at him. His half-fox body, with four-tails sweeping behind him regally was truly a terrible sight to behold.

Then Naruto let loose another mighty roar as chakra detached itself from him in extremely dense particles, and began to gather said chakra particles at the end of his tails, and bringing it above his mouth. _This is amazing. There's more chakra in that tiny ball than I have in my entire body. Getting hit by that would mean certain death. I had better move farther away. _He jumped away until he was far enough away from Naruto to where Naruto was just a tiny speck. Naruto swallowed the ball and sunk into the ground a few inches, before expanding and shooting out a beam of chakra at the assembled army.

Those that were caught within 200 yards of ground zero were incinerated immediately. For any human who was within another 500 yards, was killed immediately, their bodies turned to mush, and farther out received wounds so bad that they would be permanently maimed for life, if they survived their injuries at all. Luckily for their allies, he had shot far enough away, that they were only hit by a massive wind blast, knocking quite a few of them from the ramparts, only hurting a few of them.

Naruto was done and he surveyed the carnage. Most of the enemy's army had been annihilated. He looked at the fort and started twitching. His tails thrashed, leaving deep gouges in the earth and he growled to himself. He was loosing control. Yamato seized this chance to jump Naruto, and when the creature turned to look at him, he slapped the seal on Naruto's head, only to have Naruto swipe at him with his tail, causing him to fall back and bleed from him chest.

"_**Grrrrrrrr……"**_ Naruto growled, as he stared intently at Yamato, pondering on how to extinguish this pest. The seal on his head disintegrated.

_Now Is my only chance. _Yamato used his Wood element to bind Naruto and his tails for a few seconds; long enough to use his specialty jutsu. _"_**Hokage Shiki Jijun Jutsu (Hokage Style Forced Retirement jutsu)**!!** Kakuan Nitten Suishu(Return of Innocence – Enclosing Palm)**!! Yamato shoved his right arm forward with a Kanji for "seat" written upon it. He pushed his palm onto Naruto's chest and then jumped back as the spiked posts shot out of the ground. The red chakra-body receded, leaving Naruto bleeding from every pore on his body and shaking violently. _This isn't good; I can't move him while he's still like this. _Yamato looked around; the entire battlefield had been deserted, with all of the able remaining attackers fleeing into the woods, with the ones who had been maimed having turned their claws and sword on themselves. _I'd better go get Ino._ Yamato created a Wood clone to fetch Ino.

-----

"Ino." Yamato said as he jumped upon the ramparts, scaring the defenders.

"What is it, Yamato-taichou?"

"Where is Hinata?"

"She is healing the injured while I take a slight break. Why?"

"Never mind that, come with me." She nodded and they both disappeared.

------

Ino was frantically trying to heal Naruto's skin back to normal. "These wounds heal slowly." Yamato nodded touching the healed wound that had been on his chest moments before.

Finally healed, Yamato slung Naruto over his shoulder, as they slowly headed back to the fort. "So, that was a Jinchuuriki's power? It was…terrifying." Ino stated to herself.

"This is one of the reasons that the powers-that-be chose me to lead the team. The crystal around his neck, that crystal only responds to the Shodaime Hokage's chakra. Seeing as how I was born as one of Orochimaru's test subjects where he injected sixty children with the Shodaime Hokage's DNA, the crystal responds to my chakra as well."

Ino looked at him wide eyed. "So, the wood techniques…"

"…Are mine, as well as the late Shodaime Hokage's." They reached the fort.

-------

Hinata was healing some injured men when she saw Naruto being carried back by Yamato. "Naruto-kun!" she ran over to him and Yamato handed Naruto to her.

"He'll be fine, just suffering from chakra exhaustion. He'll be fine in a few days." He said, reassuring her.

She was still on the verge of tears though as she carried him over to an empty cot. She set him down and took his hand. He groaned and opened his eyes.

--------------

He groaned

_Oh man, what a headache. What the hell happened? One tail, lots of annoying men, a few cuts and then…HIM!!!_ His eyes shot open and he sat up reaching for Hidama that wasn't there.

"Naruto-kun!" he looked over to see Hinata kneeling next to his cot with a look of relief in her face. He was in a large deep-red tent that was obviously used for medical purposes, due to the moaning and cries of pain he heard.

"Hinata-chan? Oh man, he got away." Naruto palmed his face.

"Who got away?"

"Number Two. This isn't good, he was here for you. If he's here, and he's behind this invasion, then that means that both of our targets are near, and there's no way we're going to get close to them. Not with his abilities."

"Calm down Naruto." Yamato said from the open flap that served as a door.

"Number Two. he was one of my superiors while I was with Hakumei." He looked at his knees as he sat up in the cot. Naruto quickly related his story about Hakumei to Yamato. "Number Two is quite different from the others. His bloodline has something to do with mind abilities. He's able to read your thoughts, manipulate you're sensory inputs, memories, HE can enter your mind to a much higher degree than Ino's family can, and who knows what else."

"Number Four was my sensei, He used to be a Mist-nin and he's very powerful, I would almost say as powerful as Jiraya was."

"Number Five is a large man. He can manipulate the earth in ways I've never seen before, being able to use minerals and recreate and mold them into weapons of any kind. He can use anything to transform, such as, this cot, you, me, and anything."

"And Number Six is the Jinchuuriki of the Eight Headed Snake. She came to Konoha under the guise of a Mist-nin seeking asylum. She's not like these other guys; she just wants to be left alone. She's a genuinely a nice person, she just grew up like Gaara and I."

"That certainly is a lot of information, however, it is our mission to try and locate the two we are looking for. So, tomorrow night Naruto and I will leave in search of them." Yamato claimed.

Naruto sighed.

"Maybe we should wait another day or two…" came a voice from the entrance behind Yamato. Yamato turned and Sakura, looking a little worse for wear, entered carrying and unconscious Kakashi on her back. Flopping him down on the cot next to Naruto, she began to relate her tale.

--------------

"A new Sharingan?" Naruto restated, "That's so cool."

"Yea, but he used it too much sending that Hidan guy's head to another dimension. Oh well, at least that's two more Akatsuki down." Sakura mumbled as Lee and Shino walked in. Shino gave everyone a nod while Lee took the chance to sweep Naruto up in a gigantic friendly hug.

"Ahh! Stop hugging me! It hurts!" Naruto sputtered and screamed while Lee was yelling something about the "wonders of youth" and "hospital beds" while tears streamed down his face, eliciting a sweat-drop from everyone including Hinata, who still clutched his hand feeling a little sorry for him.

"Well, we'll catch up later, right now, I think were in need of food and rest, I think we might have a little reprieve tomorrow, seeing as how much damage Naruto did." Yamato stated.

"Really?" Shino asked.

"Come by the fire, I'll tell you all what had happened when we're there." Yamato said. Naruto started to get up, "You stay right there. You need your rest after what you did today."

"Aww come on, you know I hate these stupid hospitals, no matter how long I stay in them. Sitting here trying to go to sleep is going to be brutal." Naruto whined.

"Nevertheless, you are staying here and resting for tomorrow. That is an order. They might be back." Yamato left and with him Shino, Sakura, and Lee. Only Hinata stayed next to him, still holding his hand.

"Aren't you going with them?" Naruto asked.

"Um… I don't know. I want to know what happened, but then I want to stay with you."

"Don't worry, I'll be okay. I'll just stay here and meditate." She blinked at him owlishly. "Okay, maybe not." He smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

She blushed, looking away from his eyes. "Um, do you mind?"

He smiled and squeezed her hand, "Look, whether you like it or not, you're my girlfriend, and you're stuck with me. So you might as well kiss me and go on." He smiled as she blushed even more, kissing him for a few seconds and then getting up to leave. His smile broadened as he leaned back against the cot with his hands behind his head, sighing contentedly. He looked around the tent and saw the guy sitting across from him sitting upright and scowling at him. "What?" he said indignantly.

The man replied "Hmph, some idiots get all the luck." To which Naruto just laughed and lay back down.

-------------------

Note: if you need a visual reference for Hidama, take a look at Hadhafang (now imagine it without the elvish inscriptions). That's where I got the idea. Google it and find out.

**NOTE: If you've read the first version i put in here, sorry if Number Two's dojutsu confused you with the Rinnegan. It isn't. It's the three circles overlapping the pupil kinda like the sharingan does they are in a triangle pattern with the inside arcs circling around the pupil and back out to the edge of the iris. Sorry if that was confusing, but it confused my beta-reader aso i decided to fix that. Think three quarters arranged in a trangle. Now make them overlap in that central triangular space, and in that triangular space is the circular pupil. Sorry if this is confusing. Try drawing it out.**


	16. Metamorphosis

**Wow. Was just messing around and found the stats button. 38,045 hits, 52,319 words, 127 pages, and only 50 reviews. I glad that you guys are enjoying reading this, but how about giving? Currently, out of my 3 favorite C2s, only one has accepted my story. It would still be cool for reviews. "Good job…" "I like it[insert idea here…" "You suck and your story sucks too…" All those would be appreciated. Only, if you're going to post the last one, at least give me ideas on how to make it better, No-point flames will be dismissed as by-products of an all-night angry drinking binge on that "certain day of the month" Female or not.**

Chapter Sixteen: Metamorphosis

------

"Are you in place?" Naruto whispered into his communicator. _Click click_. Naruto situated himself in the tree to get a better view of the cave's entrance. Four men were sitting at its entrance around two fires. They looked too much like professional bodyguards rather than soldiers. They all had pearly-white horns on their skin hoods, with bone breastplates and skin skirts that reached down a little above their knees. They all had three six-inch metal claws on each hand, and looked way too serious to be anything but royal bodyguards. "Remember, the only way we're going to get the drop on them is if Number Two isn't actively looking for us. We can only hope that there are a lot of people inside, that way he won't be able to detect us so easily. Remember, no jutsu." Getting two clicks in response, he jumped down in the shadow of the tree hiding against its trunk as a group of three men walked by chattering in their grunting language.

Naruto was dressed in his black and red ANBU-style gear. Hidama was strapped to his back instead of on his belt, so that it didn't make any noise. On his belt he had attached one storage scroll filled with his special kunai. He remembered showing them to Kakashi for the first time. He thought that the man was going to choke on him own tongue. He had also attached another pouch which held his extra kunai, and attached to his back on the right side was the gourd that held Jiraiya's remains. He had flatly refused to have them buried, and had returned them to keep with him forever. He wore a mask much like Kakashi sported, and had dyed his hair black, along with his Hita-Ite so it didn't reflect light off of the metal.

He crept along past the grass huts and campfires, making sure to stay in the shadows. Finally, when he was on the last hut, and the only obstacle that kept him from the cave was an open area of about fifty feet, he heard a grunt behind him. He turned only to find one of the men staring at him with his claws raised about to strike. Naruto whipped a kunai out and stabbed the man in the heart only to have him drop to the ground with a kunai already embedded into the back of his head. He looked up to see Kakashi leaning against a rock a few yards away and nodded his thanks. Pocketing the two kunai, he turned back around to see none other than the General himself, looking quite pissed off.

The man had four horns strapped to his head, and had basically the same armor and everything that the royal guards had, except he had feathers and his armor way dyed a bright red. He carried two swords on his right hip and a big sword on his back. His beady eyes looked around the camp and every one suddenly ceased their needless chatter and fell to their knees, looking at the ground. Naruto looked back at Kakashi and tapped his left eye, signaling the start of Phase One.

With everyone's eyes to the ground Naruto sped past the man, flattening himself behind the four guards at the mouth of the cave. The General didn't notice, because he was already trapped within Kakashi's Genjutsu. Naruto slipped in the darkening cave as he stealthily snuck along its twisting corridor. He entered a large torch-filled chamber filled with dozens of guards all standing at attention and what looked like priests. Lucky enough, there were two large statues of some sort of human-dog creature standing with a large spear. He darted behind one and proceeded to climb it.

Reaching its shoulders, he finally saw the entire room. It was as large as the stadium that he had fought in his first Chunin exam. There was a large, circular stone table up on a raised portion of rock. It had scribbles all over it, all encrusted with blood. Off to one side was a large pile of bodies, all in various states of decay. The pace reeked. _The sooner I get through this the better._ On the other side, stood the Queen Mother with a large bloody dagger in her hands. There were four tunnels leading to other chambers with guards flanking each one. In the tunnel to his immediate right, there were raggedly looking prisoners standing in a line. The next one was pushed up onto the stage, and laid across the table. The queen mother shouted something, and the room erupted in obvious ecstasy as she brought the dagger down into the man's heart. _Savages, we'll get the out soon enough._ Off to the other side of the room was a disgusted looking Number Two. Narrowing his eyes, Naruto looked back towards the stage to see them hauling another body off and throwing it onto the pile while bringing another prisoner. This one was a young girl, only about ten years old, and she was crying her eyes out.

_Bastards._ The girl was put upon the stone tablet and the Queen Mother raised her dagger once again. As she yelled out, the face on the statue on Naruto's left cracked loudly as a huge gash appeared much like on the Sandaime's face on the Hokage monument. Naruto quickly used a jutsu to hide himself onto the statue as the attention of the entire room moved onto the statue. Hoping that Number Two didn't actively sweep for him, his prayers were answered.

The Queen Mother yelled once more and was about to kill the girl, when a man came running in yelling his head off. After a long series of grunts and yells, everyone looked towards Number Two. His attention went from the statue to all the pairs of eyes that were intently gazing upon him. He just shrugged and pointed towards the main exit tunnel. The Queen Mother ranted in her coarse language as the entire congregation piled into the exit tunnel yelling and screaming in obvious anger towards the ever-increasing sounds of battle.

The prisoners were hustled back into their tunnel as Naruto mentally marked it and peered back at Number Two. _He hasn't activated it yet,_ he thought as he saw Number Two turn around and walk into the back-left tunnel. He scanned the room once more to find it devoid of life, save for guards. _Wait, where did she go? She must've gone over there…_ he thought as he looked at the back-right tunnel.

Dropping to the ground silently, he peered around the statues legs. There were still eight guards in the room. _Let's see, how to get past these guys? Ah, I know. _ He made the more-than-familiar cross-shaped seal and seven copies appeared next to him. He nodded to his doppelgangers and they all set about the task of climbing the walls with chakra and maneuvering their ways over their respective guards. A quick mental signal and they all dropped down behind the guards, and with barely a sound, slit each guards' throat, laying them on the ground and stabbing them in the heart; just for good measure. Naruto hid the bodies inside the pile of rotting corpses and set off down the tunnel that held the Queen Mother.

He gradually made his way along the dark hallway. Skulls lined the walls and the odd statue here and there. About two-hundred yards into the hallway, it branched into two separate tunnels. He made a Kage Bunshin, and continued along. _Man, how long is this stupid tunnel? _He mentally asked himself. He came to another branch; this time it split into 4 separate tunnels. Making more Kage Bunshins, he sped off into each one.

About five-minutes into the tunnel he finally noticed something; the tunnel never ended. _What a minute, what the hell's going on? Is this some sort of Genjutsu?_

"**So, you've finally noticed.**" A voice said from everywhere.

"This is no Genjutsu, isn't it?"

"**Very perceptive. You have been caught in my Unique Bloodline.**"

"Ah, so it's you. How long?" he asked the voice as everything went black and cold.

"**Ever since that crazy native came screaming in the Altar Room. He said that there were people attacking, so I asked myself, 'What kind of crazy idiot would attack an army a hundred-thousand strong?' and then the answer came to me, you." **Answered the voice as a huge single eye opened up in the black. It was the three-circled eye of his former superior.

"So what was he yelling about anyways?"

"**I don't know; I just heard the word 'intruder' screaming in his mind."**

"So, are you going to kill me? I guess I should be grateful, with you cutting off all my sensory functions."

"**Unfortunately no, Number One will not allow me to kill you. You still have a purpose. I will merely wipe your memories and make you fully my slave. Then you will come to realize the pure genius of Number One's plan.**"

"You may be able to wipe my memories, but even you aren't strong enough to wipe Kyuubi's. He'll just tell me everything that's happened. And then we'll be back to square one."

"**So you're on that good of terms with the Fox? Who would have that thought that you could actually befriend the demon?**"

"I never said I befriended him. We've just…come to terms with our agreement. As you already know, I am almost as strong as Kyuubi, absorbing his chakra and everything, so without your bloodline I would tear you limb from limb. Even as it stands, soon even your bloodline won't work against me, as I will be too powerful to control."

"**Ah, but if Itachi gains his ultimate Sharingan, then even you would be powerless to stop him."**

"True, but that's why I haven't killed you yet. I need you to kill Itachi for me."

"**And why should I do that? What's in this bargain for me?**"

"Well, how about-" Naruto never finished as the blackness receded and the eye disappeared. His vision returned to normal and he could feel again. He took in his surroundings again. There was Number Two standing in front of him with a kunai to his throat with Kakashi standing behind him, a kunai to Number Two's throat. His Sharingan activated and spinning. "Thanks, but let's let him leave."

"What? Naruto, what are you taking about?" Kakashi demanded with narrowed eyes.

"His bloodline is the only one that can defeat Itachi's." he turned to look Number Two in his normal eyes. "Leave. Number One has poisoned your mind. I thought yours would be stronger than his."

Number two smiled cruelly, "But, you don't know what he is capable of. His dream takes precedent over all others and whoever stands against him deserves the wrath of the gods. He will bring unity and peace to the world. No longer shall there be any wars or petty crimes. All shall bow before him and pledge their loyalty and accept his terms of pacification!" his eyes grew wild and he had a slight deranged smile plastered on his face. His eyes closed as he turned his head upwards; "If you're going to kill me, then you'll have to do it after I have accomplished his dream!" his eyes flew open revealing the doujutsu spinning wildly, pupils dilated, all of the previously white part of his eyes now black, the black parts now white. He disappeared from both of their views and they could hear him cackling as he ran down the hall into the open battlefield outside..

"One of these days that bastard will have to come to terms with what Number One really is." Naruto stated.

"And what is that?" Kakashi asked.

"A deranged lunatic, too full of himself and bent on world destruction." Naruto answered. He looked back at Kakashi, "Hey, thanks for saving me there. I was hoping someone would show up, so I tried stalling him as best I could." He said cheerfully scratching the back of his head and smiling. His instincts kicking in, he whirled around while simultaneously pulling out Hidama and lopping off the attackers head off. However, not before his stupidity was rewarded with a trio of slashes on his upper arm. "Ow, that fucking bitch cut me! Aw man, that one actually hurts." He said grabbing his arm to stop the bleeding. "Oh well, I guess we accomplished our objectives. Let's leave the bodies outside to be discovered by their followers." Naruto stated as he held his hand to his arm to try and stop the profuse bleeding.

"Come on; let's get that healed by Sakura." Kakashi said as he turned and picked up the queen mother's body and head.

They walked outside and surveyed the scene. Yamato had created a wooden wall and they could hear the screams of intense rage and agony as the horde tried their best to get in by any means necessary. Sakura and Ino were healing some men who had come with them to help hold off the beast-like men. She looked up and saw them both walking out relatively unharmed. "Thank god they're both okay." Sakura mumbled to herself. He finished with the wounded man and stood up to meet them. "Here let me heal that for you Naruto." She smiled

"Thanks, man this hurts a lot. And check it for poisons too, I've never bled this much before."

"Okay." She said nervously. She did a few seals and a green glow enveloped her hands while he put them to Naruto's arm. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and she started to sweat from exertion. After a minute or two she had to let go of the healing process saying, "It's no good. My chakra won't enter your body. And what's even weirder is that my diagnostic jutsu is saying that your body isn't healing itself. It's actually attacking itself. That why there's so much bleeding."

"So, you think it might be a poison, please don't tell me that it's a poison." Naruto said closing his eyes.

"It has to be Naruto. There's nothing else that I know of that can cause this to happen."

Naruto fell to his knees and slammed his fist into the ground, creating a small indentation. "Damn it all. This means that _he_ killed him, not Kisame. That son of a bitch planned this entire thing." He grunted as a memory passed by.

_Naruto stood in the lobby of the town's small hospital. He was tired, hungry, and alone. After all, his mentor was lying in a bed twenty feet away, in a chemical-induced coma because he was suffering from the worst poison anyone could imagine._

_It had been three days; two days past what the doctor gave him. Naruto decided to go back into the room and see if there had been any improvement. He didn't think there would be any, but still it might not hurt to check. He walked back to the door and slid it open._

_The man in the bed was wrapped in bandages from his waist to his neck from a rupture in his skin. He had splotches on his skin here and there and he was very pale. His breathing was shallow and almost rhythmic to the beeping of the machine. They had put him under last night, after two days of the torture. Before they put him under he squeezed out seven words and a jutsu. "Father…Yondaime..." Then he did a hand seal and spit out a gigantic scroll. "Key…hide it…ask Tsunade…" then they put him under._

_He tried in vain to hold back his tears, but he cried anyway. "Shinobi aren't supposed to show their emotions, but why do I keep crying?" he asked himself through his sobs._

"_Because if you didn't cry, you'd be an inhuman monster." A voice said from the doorway. Naruto turned to see the doctor, a man he had come to hate in the past two days. The man's façade turned somber, "Look, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do. We've never seen a poison of this caliber before. It's some kind of flower laced with chakra, and since it has chakra in it, there's no way to know how to stop it. Unfortunately the chakra means that it could go a thousand different directions, and there's no way for us to stop it. We don't have any medical ninja here who specialize in poisons. I'm sorry."_

_---_

_The next day, Ero-sennin had died, and Naruto had taken his body to the woods to burn. He had purchased a small gourd in town and had clipped it to his belt. The gourd had two pieces of paper in it. As if on cue, two figures descended from the trees in the clearing off to his right._

_Naruto opened his slitted eyes and his chakra swirled around him, making his features more feral. "__**I'll kill you for what you did to him.**__" He growled as the chakra solidified into a shell complete with ears and a tail._

"_Heh?" Kisame started, scratching his head. He turned to Itachi, "What's he talking about?" he turned back to Naruto, "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_Naruto squeezed his eyes as another tail bubbled towards the surface, ripping gashes in the ground around him and finally solidifying, whipping around behind him in obvious agitation. "__**I'm gonna enjoy tearing you apart and making you watch me eat your beating heart."**_

"_Well Kisame, You said that you wanted to take him. So, take him." cooed Itachi._

"_Heh, Piece of cake." said the shark-man with a smile as he shouldered Samehada._

_Naruto let loose a roar and launched himself at Kisame and Kisame readied Samehada to bat the annoying brat away. However, all three missed the fourth set of eyes hiding in the tree line. The three-ringed eyes forced Kisame's vision to blur; causing him to lose sight of Naruto for the split second it took him to cross the gap. Naruto slammed into Kisame. He plowed into him with force enough to send him flying backwards into a few trees._

"_That actually hurt, brat. Now it's my turn." The shark-man grinned. He made swipe after swipe with Samehada, and had soon forced Naruto backwards towards the lake that he had set up earlier._

_Once Naruto and Kisame were out onto the lake, the pair of watching eyes caused Kisame's vision to blur again, allowing Naruto the precious second he needed to latch onto Kisame._

_The man watched with mild distaste as the boy continued to dismantle the shark-man's body while the other Akatsuki member readied himself to attack. He recognized the Mangekyou Sharingan in Itachi's eyes and readied his eyes to help the boy defeat it._

_----_

_Naruto stumbled into the water, trying to wash himself clean of the blood and gore that had adorned him a few minutes ago. Thinking about what he did forced his stomach to try to empty its contents once again, but since he hadn't eaten in a few days, he was less than successful._

_Finally, for the most part clean, he shakily walked back to the docks fully intent on returning home when he suddenly felt the urge to get away. He looked at the nearest ship and walked aboard, completely missing the same set of ringed eyes that had been following him around for the past few days._

He opened his now red, slitted eyes. "I promise you Ero-sennin, I'll properly avenge your death. This time I'll kill the right man." He growled.

Suddenly he grasped his arm crying out on pain. "Gah, it hurts so badly." He grunted through the pain. Naruto fell onto his back, breathing heavily and looking up at the sky with his teary sky blue eyes. "I'm sorry; it looks like I'm not going to be able to protect anyone anymore." He closed his eyes, causing a single tear to roll down his cheek.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped as she grabbed him by his shoulders to steady him. "Naruto, talk to me! This isn't good." She flew through seals and activated her diagnostic jutsu. She moved up and down his body scanning everything. "Oh no, this is the same type of poison he said was used against Jiraiya-sama. His own white-blood cells are attacking his body." She said looking up at a nervous-looking Kakashi. "We have to get him back to Konoha _**now**_."

"Will there be time? Didn't he say that it killed Jiraiya-sama in three days? Konoha is at least four full days at a fast pace that even I can't keep up."

"We still have to try. I'll just need to take a sample of his blood and I can try to find a way to make an antidote."

-----

Naruto stood in the bleak. It was a world inhabited by nothing; a grey, desolate wasteland. Curious as to why he hadn't gone to Kyuubi's cage-room like all of the other times he was having a near-death experience, he decided to wander around. After what seemed like hours of traveling underneath the black sky, barren land soon gave way to a winding rocky ravine. He came around a sharp bend a saw what looked like an old house. He grabbed the door and slid it open, and stepped into the black of the interior.

He floated.

And floated.

And floated.

He felt nothing, knew nothing, thought nothing, until a slight clamour met his ears. It was definitely a scuffle of some sort. Much like when hearing a civilian pair fighting from another room. Then the shouts surfaced and he suddenly found himself in a dark alley-way underneath a black sky periodically interrupted with bright flashes of light of reds, greens, and blues. Turning around he saw a group of men standing shoulder to shoulder across the alley. He wandered over to where he could look over their shoulders and saw a small bloody heap on the ground whimpering in pain.

_That's right; that was the first time I was beaten and was saved by ANBU._ He thought placidly as he was the child get another kick to the ribs, hearing the sickening snap of bone. One of the men turned around to face the newcomer and offered a hand towards the lump that was Naruto. "Wanna go for a few kicks? You're a shinobi; you must've known what he did to your friends."

"My…friends?" Naruto looked at the man genuinely confused. "I had…friends?" The man looked at him like he was crazy.

"Poor man." One of the women said from the crows. "He was so traumatized by the attack, he went crazy."

"So this child is the container of the Kyuubi no Yoko." Naruto stated as he craned his neck over a man's shoulder to get a better look at the unconscious child. "Funny, he doesn't look like a beast that could destroy us with a flick of a finger."

"That's because he's trying to trick us."

"So, you doubt that your beloved Fourth Hokage couldn't defeat the creature? You doubt the power of my Father?"

"Y-you're father! But we were told that he had no children!" he man said obviously shocked, taking a step back."

"Well, I guess that would mean that you were lied to, wasn't it? I guess you don't even know who I am. Well, I'll take a minute to enlighten you." He said making a sweeping gesture with his hands and making a large bow. "My name is Kazama-Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi no Yoko strongest of the tailed demons. And I am that lump over there." He stated while pointing to the bloody heap. "Now, would anyone like to tell me why you were trying to destroy my body?"

Before anyone could answer the image before him warped and distorted to a small room. There were no windows and no furnishings, save for a bed and a table. He was scribbling furiously at the paper in front of him, trying to figure out the answer to the puzzle. _Three milligrams Monoclorathine combine with seven milligrams Digitonin combined with one leaf of the Dragon flower. Add two milliliters of poison from a black-nosed snake. That might work. I'll need to test it out though. Since I'll need to separate the boy from his teacher, this might work. Yes, I'm sure it'll work, and possibly destroy the boy emotionally as well. _Naruto grinned as he took the piece of paper to another room where there was a long table adorned with all manner of tubes glass bottles and plants. He let out an evil chuckle as he got to work making his brand new poison.

Once again the memory in front of him swam again into a bleary view of darkness. He bobbed up and down in a rhythmic motion. One that threatened to put him back to sleep, but he couldn't go back to sleep now. He was being carried piggy-back by Kakashi, but he didn't care, he had a mission that might cost him his life, should he fall back asleep.

He tried to speak, but nothing came out but a breath of air. So he did the next best thing, he nudged Kakashi's head with his own with the greatest force he could muster.

Kakashi picked this up and immediately jumped to the ground and laid Naruto gently on his back. "Let's take a break for a minute. We need the rest anyway."

"But Kakashi-sensei, we need to get Naruto back to Konoha." Sakura said.

"Yes, but Naruto is awake." He stated.

"Naruto-kun!" Naruto heard just before he heard a loud thump. He couldn't move his head, so he just looked out of the corner of his eye to see Kakashi holding Hinata back. He could tell she had been crying. Her face was splotchy as well as her red-rimmed, puffy eyes. He mustered a smile and what strength he had left and turned his head to the side, as well as trying to shift his body so that he was laying on his side, but to no avail. He hadn't the strength to turn himself.

"Do you want to roll over Naruto?" asked Sakura, who he could tell was on the verge of tears. He also saw everyone else behind her. Ino, crying as well, Lee, also crying, Shino, stoic as ever, but he turned his head to the left while Hinata and Kakashi were off to his right. He couldn't bear to see Hinata cry, nor did he want to look at her now. Naruto nodded, and Sakura helped him onto his side. He finally got the strength to put his arm onto the soft dirt beside him and silently thanked every god and goddess out there, that there was soft dirt underneath him.

He started writing.

After several painstaking minutes and waves of pain later, he was finished.

_Three milligrams Monoclorathine, seven milligrams Digitonin, one leaf of the Dragon Flower, two milliliters poison, black-nose snake. I love you, --_

At the end was an unfinished kanji for "sunny place." Hinata had burst into tears once again and collapsed to her knees, with Kakashi still trying vainly to console her. Sakura looked at the list that he had made.

"Ino do you know what this is?"

Ino looked over it and he face lit up, "That baka! Making us worry this much! This is so simple! It's an exact recipe for the poison that was used on him. And the dragon Flower is a rare flower only grown in Suna."

"This poison is almost the same that was use on Kankuro-san." Sakura stated. "Don't worry Hinata," Sakura said and the heiress looked up at her through her tears, "We can be in Suna my noon tomorrow and I'll have a batch of anti-venom by dinner-time." She said with a smile.

Hinata just stared at her for a few seconds before he rushed her, latching on a saying a thousand "thank you".

"Well, let's hurry. It's already been two days. We have to get there soon. I'm afraid he doesn't have much longer." Yamato droned as he and the other sped off into the forest, leaving Hinata to watch Kakashi put Naruto back onto his back and then they too leapt off in the direction of Sunagakure.

--------

_What are these visions? These are not my memories… _Naruto thought as he floated once again. His vision once again swam to something else.

_A little ten year old boy was standing alone on a bridge, waiting for his mother and father to come greet him. He was so happy when he heard the news! He had hoped that they didn't know yet, because he wanted to be the one to tell them that he was finally accepted into the Ninja Academy. Finally he was going to become a cloud Shinobi, just like his mother and father._

_His mom and dad were due back at any time. His dad was an Elite Jonin on a mission to stop an enemy team from destroying one of their bridges. He was so happy that he decided to meet them at the gate instead of their usual meeting spot._

_Just as he rounded one of the buildings, he saw his father walking through, carrying his mother in his arms. Then he saw the blood. He saw the blood-soaked blue vest his father wore, and the three-pronged Kunai sticking out of his back. His mother's eyes were open to the stars, dull and lifeless._

_His father didn't even see his as he tipped face first into the ground, dead, his arms cradling his dead wife._

Naruto kept floating in the nothing. Everyone once in a while a wave of pain would rack his entire body, causing him to double over.

"_Why isn't Sakura here?_

"_She doesn't need to be here."_ Naruto heard the voices say. He recognized the two voices as his vision swam yet again.

"_Well then, aren't you going to cry about why I won't come back?" Sasuke sneered._

"_Nope. My brother died long ago when he chose to become the very thing he hated. When he became Itachi in all but name."_

_Sasuke hissed, "Don't you _ever _say his name in front of me again."_

"_I still don't completely understand why you went to Orochimaru." Naruto said as he scratched his head in thought._

"_This song and dance again? Like I told you-"_

"_Yea, yea, you did it for power I know that. But what I don't understand is why you went to some second rate pretender, instead of going straight to the source." He stated, not even giving Sasuke's scowl a second glance. "Kakashi achieved his Mangekyou Sharingan, did you know that?" Naruto chuckled, "That's weird, because everyone he had ever loved is now dead, and he had no one to kill to attain it. So apparently you don't have to kill your best friend, it's just the emotional trauma that triggers the change. Kakashi found a way around it. I'm sure a 'super-genius' like yourself can find a way."_

"_I've had enough of this talk. Come. Fight me."_

_Naruto full out laughed at Sasuke whose scowl only deepend. "You know I've even thought of a cool line to say at this moment. 'At the end of this day, one shall stand; one shall fall. '" Naruto laughed again. "Yea, but I have no reason to fight you." He said looking back into Sasuke's eyes. "You're not strong enough to stand against me."_

_Sasuke's rage finally boiled over as he activated his Sharingan and charged a Chidori in his hand. "I'm going to finish what I couldn't do those years ago." He said as he charged._

"_Aww, but then how would you find your brother?" This stopped Sasuke dead in his tracks, with his Chidori two inches from Naruto's unwavering chest. "Guess I struck a nerve." He said smiling._

_Sasuke stood back up and looked Naruto dead in the eyes. "Talk."_

_Naruto only chuckled again. "A few years ago your brother came to me, once again seeking to capture what resides inside me. I defeated his partner and him and forced him into remission. Apparently he recovered from the trauma and returned to me a few weeks ago with a message. He wanted me to find you and tell you to meet him at the Uchiha hideout. He should still be there for about one more week. So I suggest you hurry."_

The memory faded into the inky blackness again. He was finally in the tunnels; the familiar _drip drip _echoing off into space, so he walked to the one familiar place there; the cage room.

Arriving there he sat down across from the cage staring into Kyuubi's eyes. They sat there staring at each other for minutes, until the fox finally said something.

"**Idiot.**"

"Hey, how the hell was I supposed to know that _she_ would attack _me_? I was still reeling from Number Two's attack." He said as he crossed his arms and huffed.

"**I thought you were supposed to be some badass assassin, but you can't even protect yourself from some psychotic bitch.**"

Naruto glared at him, "It was a bad time." He crossed his arms and huffed.

"**Look, human, if we're going to live much longer, you're going to have to get your act together. I don't even understand half of what you're thinking. First you love your friends, then you hate them, then you hate the village, then you hate yourself for hating the village, then you hate me, than you go back to hating yourself, then you start loving everything and everyone, then you go back to hating the villagers but loving the village. Look at me; it's causing me to lose fur." He said raising a gigantic paw.**

"So, do you have any idea of what these memories are? Because I sure as hell know they aren't mine." Naruto asked, changing the subject. He really didn't feel like conversing about the furball's appearance.

"**I have an idea, but who knows? Only time will tell. I think that that poison was supposed to kill you, but since I am here, I don't think it reacted the way it was supposed to. Looks like some of his memories transferred over to our body, seeing as how it was his chakra that was lacing the poison. Although I know how his Doujutsu works."**

"Yea yea, I know too. His eyes are adapted to read chakra in the sense that he can see what it has been recently used for, and can read the gamma waves to read a person's thoughts. Since the brain uses tiny electrical signals to produce movement and thoughts, he can use the chakra as a medium to decipher and understand immediately what the person's thinking and be able to manipulate their brain waves in whatever way he so chooses." Naruto paused thinking, "Say, you think the reason I can see these memories, is because I have somehow assimilated the doujutsu?"

"**It is a definite possibility. However, since you have almost absorbed all of my chakra, I cannot tell."**

The cage room faded away until one more, he was floating. "Damn it, always at the wrong time." He became aware that he could feel again. His body felt like it was floating in the ocean. It was almost dizzying. He slowly opened his eyes to the almost blinding light.

-----

He groaned, "Oh man, my head." He tried to lift his arm to his head but found he couldn't do it. His arm felt like it weighed a ton. "Oh man, am I dead?" He opened his eyes, squinting.

He saw the tan roof, and heard the beeping of the machines. "Another hospital." He groaned again. His throat felt scratchy and he looked around the room. There was one other person occupying it, and it seemed that he had hurt his head. He had a bandage wrapped around the top and his left eye was covered as well. He was an older gentleman and had snow white hair coming out from under the bandages.

His bed was backed up against the window, and he was facing the door. The other man's bed was to his left, and there was an open area to his right, where his clothes were folded up nice and neatly. He lifted the sheet the two inches that he could manage and found that they had stripped him down to his underwear. _Well, at least they kept that on. _He thought.

"Gah, I'm bored already" He said. He willed himself to swing his legs over the side of the bed, and did so. He sat for a few minutes just waiting for his strength to return to his body. He felt like he was weighed down by all the weight that Gai and Lee had on total.

Panting heavily, he stood up propping his weight on the bed.

"You know you shouldn't be out of bed." Naruto heard the voice say. He looked around to see the other room's occupant looking at him with his good eye.

"Hey, I'm a ninja, and plus I heal fast."

The man chuckled, "That's not what the pink-haired girl said." Seeing Naruto's questioning look, he continued, "She said it would be a miracle if you were ever able to conjure up chakra again. You've been in a coma for three months."

"Three months!" Naruto exasperated. "Oh, by the way, where am I?"

"You're in the most awful place you can be in, The Hospital."

"I know that, what country?"

"Suna."

"Why haven't they moved me back to Leaf?"

"They said you were too unstable. You're chakra passageways were shredded, as well as your lungs, stomach, and kidneys. The people you came in with all left, except the pink-haired girl."

"Really." Naruto stated. He wondered why Sakura would have stayed and not Hinata. He felt sad that he couldn't see her, and it would be a while before he could see her.

"Apparently your Hokage felt so strongly about your recovery, that she ordered her best medic to oversee your status."

"How do you know all this?" Naruto asked

"The doctor was quite the chatterbox. I appealed to her better nature and she opened up like a floodgate." He smiled

Naruto walked shakily over to the counter where his clothes lay, and slowly put them on, ignoring the slight pain that he had started to feel everywhere. Hell, even his _hair_ hurt. About twenty minutes later, he was sitting on the bed again, with just his pants, shirt, and Hidama.

"You ready?"

Naruto turned to look at him once more. He had gotten out of his own bed, and was standing next to Naruto's. "For what?" Naruto asked, genuinely stumped. The man just smiled and held up the little blue button attached to Naruto's bed. He mashed the button down and quickly went back to his own bed and pretended to be asleep.

Medics came bursting into the room with a large cart filled with needles and other various medical utensils. Once they saw that he was actually sitting up, they started yelling at him for making them worry about him being dead, and calling him names for playing a practical joke that was absolutely not funny.

"B-but I didn't do it!"

"Oh yea, then who did?"

"He did!" Naruto pleaded, pointing to his roommate.

"Please, we gave him his sleeping pills earlier this morning; he's been out like a light all day."

"But…" Naruto sputtered. Suddenly the room dropped a few degrees.

"There had better be a _very _good explanation for this Naruto…" he heard a growl behind the group of doctors. He picked out a patch of pink hair and suddenly felt his stomach churn.

"I swear, Sakura I never touched the button! I didn't even know the button was there!"

She just smiled sweetly, and then turned to everyone else. "Would you please leave me with the patient alone? I think some of his bones might need to be reset." The medics swiftly filed out of the door and into the corridor.

She turned once they were gone and just looked at Naruto. She was just smiling. "S-Sakura, you're starting to scare me."

"Thank goodness you're alive."

"Huh?" he sat there fully expecting a beating, and that's what she said. She flung herself into him and hugged him fiercely.

She was crying over his shoulder, her tears spilling onto his back. "I thought that you'd never wake up."

He just wrapped his arms around her and responded, "It's okay Sakura, I was just resting. Ha, you think a mere poison like that could keep me down?"

She pulled herself away looking into his eyes. "Don't you get it you idiot, you'll never be a ninja again." She dried her eyes.

He just smiled at her. "Says you, but I think I know my own limitations better than you do. I've come back from worse."

"Worse than this? I find that hard to believe Naruto."

"Not if you'd met my sensei, you wouldn't." He smiled and looked around. "But really, I didn't pull the plug."

"Oh shut up about the button. I don't care, as long as you're feeling better."

"I'm fine." Naruto whined, "Look at me, I dressed myself. Now what person in my condition would be able to do that?"

She turned serious, "Look Naruto, you're chakra passageways have been shredded, I had healed your other internal organs to the point where they should be able to heal themselves, but I'm afraid that your passageways were too far gone. There was nothing that I could do for them."

Naruto just shrugged as he went to stand up again. His legs were still shaky, but he felt a lot better. "Oh well, I'm sure that if I can get some food in me I'll start to heal up real nice."

"Don't you get it you idiot? You can't be a ninja anymore!" she yelled him.

"You don't know that. Look at what happened to Lee. Tsunade said he would never be a ninja again and he looks fine to me. Only time will tell. I'm sure that given my special situation, I will recover. I can already feel his chakra starting to weave its way through my body. I'm pretty sure that I won't be 100 for a long while but I will recover."

"Alright fine, but I'm coming with you. By rights, you shouldn't be even able to get out of bed."

"Yosh, to the food!" Naruto said weakly pumping his fist into the air eliciting a murmur from the bed next to him.

"So, I hope your joke was funny." Sakura seethed.

"It was funny enough. I wish you had beaten the crap out of him like you did that doctor the other day."

"Sakura." Naruto interrupted, "Food."

Sakura slapped her forehead, "Fine, on one condition..."

----

"Why do I have to be in a wheelchair?" Naruto moaned

"Because it's the Doctor's orders. And because I will pound you if you don't."

"That sounds good enough to me." Naruto said as he took another bite of his chicken. It wasn't ramen, but they decided to go to a real restaurant, seeing as how Naruto hadn't had much food in him for a while.

"So, I have to ask." Naruto started, looking into his meal. "Where's Hinata?"

Sakura paused, "She…wanted to go back." Naruto sighed. "I'm so sorry Naruto. She didn't abandon you. She just couldn't bear to see you like that."

"Well I guess that's a good explanation. Besides, I guess it isn't like she never wanted to see me again." He mumbled. "Still, I wish I could have seen her face." He paused as he took another bite. "Sakura, when do you think I'll be able to go back?"

"I don't know. When we get done here, I'll run another diagnostic jutsu and see, and then we'll check again tomorrow. Hopefully we'll have an estimate by then."

"I hope it's soon. I really want to see her again."

Sakura leered at him, "You really are in love with her aren't you?"

"Why shouldn't I be? I mean, she was the one who taught me that it was okay to trust again. It's not eh fact that I latched onto the first person to care for me, but I've been in love with her ever since that Bikochuu mission."

"That long? You're horrible, letting her go on like that, stalking you and you never telling her. Especially when you left, she was a wreck. She kept thinking you left because of her."

He chuckled and smiled, "By the time I'm done with her, she won't be stuttering anymore."

Sakura slammed her chopsticks down on the table, causing the various dishes to clatter. "Naruto you had better not be a pervert."

"Sakura, The question is not whether a man is a pervert or not. ALL men are perverts, the question is: 'To what degree of a pervert is he?' And no, I wasn't thinking of that. What I meant was, if her father won't train her then I will. I won't have her dying on me because her dad is wallowing in self pity and blaming the death of his wife on Hinata. I'll make her strong; maybe even stronger than you."

"Well, I'll look forward to the challenge when that comes; until then, good luck."

They ate the rest of the meal and Sakura wheeled Naruto back to the hospital. H took off his shirt and she ran her jutsu over his back a few times. "Incredible, just incredible..."

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Well, you're chakra pathways are healing at an incredible rate. At this rate, you may be able to sustain a steady flow of chakra in about a week."

"Ha, I told you. Do you think I can call out any at all? I'd rather not be stuck here for a week with nothing to do."

"I would strongly advise against it, but I guess you might be able to."

"Then can you get me a Shougi Board?"

"Did someone say Shougi?" asked the voice from the adjacent bed.

"You play?" asked Naruto.

"Who doesn't?" came the reply.

"Great! I was planning on having to swoon one of the smarter nurses to play with me, but this'll work too." He stated, rewarded with a smack on his head.

"Have you already forgotten about Hinata?"

"I was just kidding…" he whined.

"Fine I'll get you your damn Shougi board, only because I don't want you using that damned book of yours."

"Book? Which one?" Naruto asked deadly serious.

"This one." She motioned to his "bingo book".

"Did someone try to open it?"

"Yea. Why do you keep something like this?"

"Sakura, I was one of the top-most assassins in the entire world. Do you think I would allow my most prized possession to be opened and read so easily? Especially with so much evidence of what I had done?" he shook his head, "No, only I can open that book, anyone else that does will die. Plus, that has multiple booby traps and storage pages inside. It's the one item in this world that I can't live without."

"I still think it's a bad idea to keep it around. Someone might get hurt."

"Yea. Maybe I'll get rid of it some day. Until then, don't touch it."

"Alright, just promise me you won't try to overexert yourself." She turned and walked towards the door.

"Alright Sakura-chan." He said to her and she paused a minute before finally leaving.

"Man, some guys get all the luck. Two women! Wish I was as lucky as you."

Naruto just looked at the man, "Can it, old timer. I've known her since I was five, she's my teammate. My real girlfriend is home in Konoha." He finished, beaming.

"Konoha? Wow, sorry to hear that."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Cause I hear they have a Jinchuuriki there."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "Is that a problem?"

"Not really, I heard he even beat Gaara, but if he was a monster then he would have killed Gaara. Oh well, I guess the villagers are just to stupid to realize what that person could actually do if he snapped and decided to 'alleviate' their Jinchuuriki problem by taking themselves out of the equation."

"Huh?"

"They should be scared of him stupid." The man said tapping on his own head.

"Oh, he he, yea they should be. Maybe then they'd stop trying to kill him. You know, I just think that you and I might become great friends."

"I know; I get a good feeling from you." At this moment a beautiful brunette nurse came in with a Shougi board.

"Here you are; I was informed that room 305 was in need of a Shougi Board?"

"That's us." Said the man.

"Prepare to meet your doom Old Timer!" Naruto yelled while pointing at the man.

"Kids these days, they have no respect. Thank you ma'am." He smiled at her as she bowed and left them to their game.

He smirked at Naruto, "Say, how about a little wager?"

**-------------------------**

**As one of my reviewers said, the three circles are like a Venn diagram, or three of the Olympic Rings; except instead of two, there are three. And in the center is the pupil.**

**Sorry for the Transformers Quote. I don't own it, but I love the movie, what can I say?**


	17. Event Horizon

Chapter 17: Event Horizon

--

Naruto was hunched over his horse, happily snoozing away; his black-dyed hair shadowing his face. Next to him rode Sakura, her hand on Naruto's back, making sure that he didn't fall off. She could hear the quiet snores and murmurs.

It had been two weeks since he had been admitted into the hospital. Sakura finally decided (after much prodding and begging of Naruto's) that it would be time to return home. Instead of traveling by route of treetops, she decided it would be better if Naruto took a horse.

"Better to wait until you're 100 percent, rather than put strain on already hurt muscles, isn't it?" she asked her steed. If it heard her, it didn't make any affirmations. "At least I'm not rushing you. It's been a while since I've had a good, easy break. It's kinda nice not having to fight or train all the time." The horse snorted as if telling her, _that's right, I'm doing all the work here. _She sighed, "First Naruto ignores me to mess around that, that, _pervert" _she sneered_, _"and now I am even talking to a horse! If Tsunade saw me, I'd be humiliated." She hung her head.

Sensing rapidly approaching chakra signatures, she snapped her head up. She was only a few miles outside of Konohagakure, so she decided not to wake up Naruto.

"Whoa, easy boy..." She calmed down her horse. It neighed and shook its head in annoyance at having its leisurely walk interrupted. _They're here._ She thought as four figures dropped from the trees. She let out an easy breath seeing the Leaf symbols on their forehead protectors.

"Hello." She waved, smiling. "Oh, Kakashi sensei, what are you doing out here?"

"Well, Tsunade-sama sent me and my improvised team out on a mission." He said as he motioned to the three behind him.

"Lee-san, Hinata-san, and Yamato-sensei?" Sakura said their names as she recognized them. "What kind of team could that be for?"

"Well, actually it's kind of top secret." Kakashi stated, smiling.

"Hinata…" Sakura looked over at the sleeping figure draped over his horse. He was currently in the process of feeling and caressing its mane. "Ne, Hinata, you're hair is so soft…" drooled the sleeping Naruto. "What are you doing? We can't do that here; we have to go where nobody will see us."

"Baka." Sakura snorted and she looked back at Hinata who was blushing, yet looking off into the forest holding back tears.

"Please, don't wake him." She sniffled, "I can't face him yet."

"You'll have to eventually." Sakura stated. "But, he'll have to have a thorough going-over with Tsunade-sama first, so if you will excuse me…"

"I'm afraid that's not going to be possible." A voice said from behind her.

She turned around to see a lone figure in a dark green robe barring the road, a wooden cane in his hand. The figure pulled back his hood revealing his face. His snow- white hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, the wrinkles around his eyes and forehead, the same dark eyes she saw from Naruto's Roommate back at the hospital in Suna.

"You?!" she exclaimed. "Why are you here, did you follow us from the hospital?"

"After spending so much time Naruto-kun, I am afraid I cannot let him be recovered. I must recapture him for my plans. I will admit, not putting the seal on him was not the smartest thing I have done, but it allowed me to see his true potential. He shall be reinstated into Hakumei as my Number Two. The Bijuu within him shall be awakened, and then, the rivers will run red with blood!" the man laughed maniacally.

Sakura jumped from her horse and faced the man. "I will not let you use Naruto for your psychotic plans of world domination!"

"Please no, Mother…Father… Who killed them?" Naruto groaned in his sleep. "Konoha's Yellow Flash? What is that? Why would he hurt them? Bring them back, I want them back!" he yelled feebly as he pounded his horse on the neck, causing it to rear up and dump him on the ground. He stood shakily, "Damn, another one of his memories…" he groaned after a minute, holding his head.

He looked up to see Hinata staring at him, teary-eyed. His face lit up at seeing her face. "Hinata!"

"Number Three…" stated the man from behind him. Naruto's faced paled as he turned around. "I am glad that Number Two's poison did not kill you. For that, I would not have forgiven him. However, now that you have recovered, I believe it is time to finally put my plan into action. It is a little soon, but preparations are almost complete. All that needs to happen now is to awaken the real you, Naruto-kun."

"What are you-" Sakura started, before a punch to her gut silenced her and sent her flying into a tree.

"Sakura!" everyone yelled as she crashed into the ground.

The old man reached within his robe, pulling out a cane decorated with kanji. "I cannot have anyone interfering with the ritual, so, Die!" he yelled as he prepared to charge the remaining four ninja.

--

_What on Earth is going on? Awaken Naruto? Ritual? Could he possibly mean…? Oh no, I must stop him! _Kakashi ran through his mind. His hand gripped his Hita-ite before he got slammed into from the side. He looked down to see Lee tackling him out of the way and taking the full brunt of the punch to his side.

Revealing his Sharingan, he finally understood what was going on. This man was _fast_. Not just fast, but incredibly fast; way too fast for Kakashi to match. He saw the man turn towards him and start to charge, when a blur crashed into the advancing figure.

Panting and sweating, Naruto stood there with his fist out. "Don't touch my friends." He growled.

"Oh, ho! It'll bet that must hurt, doesn't it? Moving so fast when you aren't one-hundred percent is probably causing all of your bones and muscles to scream at you." The man stood, "I'll bet that punch took everything you had, didn't it?" Naruto's scowl only deepened. "Very well, time to get on with the ritual!"

Kakashi received a punch to his gut and was sent flying back into a tree. His vision was blurred and the blackness was starting to creep into the edges of his sight, however he didn't black out. He watched as the man methodically punched Yamato in the same way and proceeded to walk over to Hinata, who stood frozen in fear.

"My, aren't you a pretty girl? Are you going to try to fight me as well?" he asked her. When he figured out she wasn't looking at him, he followed her sight to Naruto who kneeled on the ground fighting against the pain that obviously was racking his body. "AHA, I see, you want me to awaken Naruto-sama as well? Very well, then, let the ritual commence!" he yelled as he went and started drawing designs in the dirt.

After a few minutes Kakashi could see Yamato stirring as well as Kakashi noticed feeling returning to his fingertips. _A few more minutes and we'll be ready to go._ He watched as the man merrily hummed a tune with continuing his drawing.

Naruto needed to stall for time. The only thing he could think of was to see if he could get Number One to talk. "So it was you wasn't it?"

"Hm?" Number One looked up from his ministrations, "what do you mean?"

"The poison, killing Ero-Sennin, manipulating Akatsuki, everything," Naruto responded "you were behind it all."

"Hai, hai." He smiled "I must say, finding Number Two was quite the lucky event for me. With his knowledge of poisons he was easily able to fool Akatsuki into poisoning that puppet-guy from Sand, and thus throw the direction of your investigation off of us. Even that snake Orochimaru doesn't even know about him. Number Two's clan was entirely wiped out, save for him and his mother. And when she mysteriously disappeared, I gave him a new sense of purpose. He helped you escape from Akatsuki, killed your sensei, and even infiltrated Akatsuki to break them apart from the inside. You have no idea how powerful that man is. His bloodline is nothing short of amazing. It's no genjutsu, it just pure hypnotization. Once he knows you are there, you're done. He can make you see what he wants you to see, feel what he wants you to feel, and think what he wants you to think. Dare I say, he could even give me a run for my money." He giggled to himself quietly, "Now, just sit quietly while I finish the seal. With that said he went back to scribbling in the sand with his cane.

After another minute, he was done.

"Okay, I'm all finished." He smiled and looked around him studying the etchings. "Yea, those look good. Okay now, who wants to give their blood?" he asked looking from one person to another.

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, I need blood for the releasing ritual. I don't want to use mine. So, nobody wants to volunteer?" he asked the ninja around him. "Alright then, I'll use Hime's blood." He stated as he walked over to a quivering Hinata. He pulled out a knife from his robe and grabbed her wrist, dragging her over to the edge of the drawings. "Okay then Hime, this won't hurt that much." He said as he drew the knife across her palm, drawing out blood. He wiped the blood on the knife, and looked at her surprised reaction. "You didn't think that we'd need ALL of your blood did you?" he asked as he pushed her out of the designs and went over to Naruto.

"Don't do it. You won't like what happens afterward."

"Do you not _want _to be free of this mortal shell?"

"You don't understand. If you seal off my consciousness what will control this power?" Naruto growled.

"That's the point, you're true self will come out and shall be free! From this day forward Naruto and Kyuubi-sama shall become one!" the older man yelled.

"Haven't you gotten it through that rotten skull of yours?" Naruto yelled, "Kyuubi no longer exists!" Naruto was answered with a hail of 'what's. "My father designed this seal so that I would absorb his chakra, so that when I died, so would he!" Naruto struggled to his feet. "I have absorbed all of the chakra within me. His chakra is now my chakra." Naruto unsheathed his blade and pointed it at Number One, focusing the chakra through his ruined body. "I will defeat you now so that you won't ever hurt any of my friends again."

"Very well then." The man said as he made a signal with his left hand, causing two forms to appear next to him. The one flanking him to his left was a very tall man, with a deeply tanned skin and black hair. His black eyes were set very deep within his face, and his jaw and nose were both slightly ajar, alluding to them having been broken numerous times and not allowed to heal properly (Number Seven).

The one flanking him to the left was a girl about Naruto's size, but was a few years older. She had green eyes and dark green hair that framed her face and reached just past her shoulder blades in the back (Number Five). "Please Sanban-sama, don't make us hurt you." She said as she fidgeted with her fingers.

"You both misunderstand me." Naruto started, "This man," he pointed at Number One "Is both a liar and a psychopath. He has completely lost touch with reality. He is no longer fit to lead us."

"Be that as it may, he is commanding us. So we must comply with his orders." The larger man spoke.

"Do not kill him." said Number One, "Just incapacitate him, we must complete the ceremony." He was answered with a pair of 'Hai's.

Number Five rushed Naruto who wasn't ready for her and punched him in the gut, sending him back a few yards, forcing him to one knee. _Shit, she hits like a ton of bricks…_ He quickly sheathed Hidama and ran through a few seals calling out "**Doton: Tsuchi Kasui no jutsu (Earth Release: Earthen Spike Jutsu)!" **Multiple spikes shot out of the ground aiming to impale Number Five, although she nimbly jumped from spike to spike, still making her way towards Naruto.

As she finally got within striking distance, she and Naruto exchanged a flurry of punches and kicks. They traded blows until she sent him flying with a swift kick to the chin. He landed quite ungracefully and rapidly got up flashing through more seals "**Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Blast)!"** He breathed in preparing to incinerate his attacker when a gigantic earthen hand exploded from the ground behind him.

Thinking quickly, he abandoned the jutsu and back flipped over the gigantic hand, landing on a tree branch. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" He called out popping 5 clones into existence beside him. "Combo Sixteen," he called "let's show these weaklings how a real shinobi fights." All five Naruto's grinned, and disappeared. Kakashi barely saw one melt into the tree and the other four jump to the ground. The Naruto in front of Number Five put his hands in an unfamiliar seal, **"Shinjutsu: Kaikishoku." **Kakashi noted this advanced genjutsu and saw the effect it had on Number Seven. He looked over to see the man identified as Number Seven slump to the ground.

"Oh my," Said the girl emotionlessly while she looked at her partner, "he fell for it." She looked back at Naruto who had unsheathed Hidama and was preparing to charge. "Please stop this before you get hurt any further."

"Shut up! I've had it with all this nonsense. Why won't you leave me _alone_! All I ever wanted was to live my life in peace, and just be_ left alone_!" he screamed, slashing his sword and releasing a gigantic wave of charka. Number Five brought her hand up to her face to block the incoming wave before automatically leaping back to avoid Naruto's follow-up horizontal slash. When she landed she took out a kunai and charged Naruto, slashing for his arm. Naruto blocked it and grabbed her hand with his left and spun elbowing her in the back of the head while simultaneously swinging his sword, biting into her left shoulder.

She hit the ground with a thud, holding her shoulder and quivering. "What is this feeling; this, this burning sensation? What, blood?" she said as she looked at her bleeding arm and the blood-stained hand. "Oh my god; it hurts! _It hurts so badly_!" she cried out, her tears flowing freely. "Please make it stop. What has Miyu done to deserve this? Hasn't Miyu been a good girl? Miyu doesn't want to hurt anymore. Please make the hurt go away!" she yelled at Naruto who just stood there and looked at her, his clones long since dissipated.

"Here it comes." He murmured to himself, getting in a ready stance and closing his eyes in preparation. He brought up his sword next to his face, holding with both hands and holding it so that the cutting edge was skyward and the tip pointed towards the now agonized Number Five.

"Why won't you help Miyu? Miyu didn't want to hurt you, and yet you hurt Miyu." Her eyes started to change color. The whites inverted to black, the usually green irises turned white. "If you aren't going to help Miyu, _**then what good are you? Miyu is going to tear you apart and make sure you hurt as well! **_Her canines and fingernails lengthened and she charged Naruto screaming. When she was about ten feet away, she swung her bloody hand at Naruto, sending her blood towards him. While in the air, the droplets hardened and sharpened into needles. Naruto's eyes widened and he cart wheeled out of the way barely missing them. She charged him again, kunai in hand, swiping and slashing with him barely dodging her furious onslaught. Naruto ducked under a side swipe from one of her hands and shoved his entire weight into her gut, causing her to cough and fall back a few steps.

Not missing the chance, Naruto conjured up a pair of clones to aid him.

"Please, stop this!" yelled Hinata, not knowing what to do.

"Hinata, stay put. Do not get involved or you will die." Kakashi yelled back.

"That is correct," stated Number One. "This is a fight between Jinchuuriki; if you were to get involved, you would most assuredly die." He said, his face shriveling up into a smile. "That idiot still hasn't gotten himself out of that genjutsu." He commented, noting his subordinate still lying prone on the ground. He shuffled over and pressed a finger to the prostrate man's neck, reawakening him.

"Huh? What happened?" his eyes widened remembering what happened before his brain shutdown. "Daigo-sama!" he looked around frantically for his superior.

"Easy, Number Seven. She has transformed, she will not be stopped. Have no fear; Number Three will not kill her. He has too much control over his demon to rampage like Number Seven would."

"I pray that you are correct." Said Number Seven as he looked on helplessly as the two monstrous people fought.

"_**Onijutsu: Chi no Ame (Demon Art: Rain of Blood)." **_Number Five growled out. She stabbed herself in her injured shoulder with her kunai, causing blood to pour down her arm. Slinging her arm around, she cast the small droplets into the air where they hovered for a second before shooting long needlelike points at Naruto. Hundreds of them shot towards Naruto, causing him to tumble, dive, and navigate the maze of death. However he did not come out unscathed. Just before he managed to make it out, one pierced his stomach. Not a very large hole, but it was all she needed. Her blood mixed with his causing a chain reaction. Blood poured out of his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hundreds of other places as hundreds of spikes protruded from his body.

"Oh dear god…" Kakashi murmured, watching his student's life essence pour all over the ground before disappearing with a 'pop'. He breathed a sigh of relief. Turning his thoughts back on himself he thought, _Why can't I move? I can feel my extremities, so why can't I use them? _Then he saw the small lines of chakra attached to Number One, each one radiating out from him attached to a seal pressed on his and his brethrens' stomachs. _A seal?_

"That's right."

Kakashi looked over to see Number One looking at him.

"That is a very powerful restricting seal, specially scince it is tied into your inner chakra coils, if you try to escape, it will kill you. I just don't want you interfering in the contest."

"Contest; is this some sort of sick game you're trying to play?"

"Game? Oh this is no game. Even if it were, the pieces have already started to move, the players are already locked in combat. Pieces have fallen, been sacrificed. Much more blood will be spilt before the day is done."

Kakashi looked at the insane man. _Just hang on a little while longer, Naruto. They are almost here._

Naruto and Number Five were up in the trees this time, fighting up and down the trunks. Naruto avoided a swipe of her claws, noticing the inch deep gouges in the trunk as a memento of his quick thinking. He punched her in the chest, knocking her further up the tree, but not without her raking her claws down his arm as she went. She looked at him gleefully, licking her fingernails, tasting his blood. "_**Yummy; you taste quite nice Sanban-sama.**_"

Naruto just looked back at her and said, "With that you have just sealed your fate." He leapt off the tree and crossed his fingers, "**Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Hundreds of Narutos filled the area; on the ground and in the trees, all glaring at the beastly girl. "Keep her busy." He commanded. They all nodded and charged her.

Naruto formed the Hebi seal and closed his eyes in concentration._ Concentrate, focus, and remember. Focus on the connection; inject chakra into the eyes and the Occipital Lobe. Compress it into a stream._ _Must find my chakra in her body…got it. Now I need an opening. _"Opening!" he called out to his clones. _Not yet…not yet…almost…There! _He opened his eyes revealing the thrice-encircled pupils.

Number Five gasped and fell to the ground unconscious. Naruto followed a second later.

"Damn." Spoke Number One. "Number Seven, pick her up, we're leaving. The battle has attracted some unwanted guests."

"Hai." Number Five went over to Number Seven and promptly disappeared.

Kakashi suddenly found himself able to move, as did the others. They stirred and got up checking each other for injuries. Hinata had bolted to Naruto's side and was administering lots of worry.

"Hinata-san, let me see him, okay?" Sakura asked. Hinata nodded and moved over, supporting his head in her lap. Sakura formed a few seals and then, with her hands glowing green, swept them over Naruto's body, scanning for any signs of injury. "Incredible." She breathed.

"What is it Sakura?" Kakashi asked.

"If anything, his body is in better condition now than it was before the fight. It's really weird; almost as if his chakra now is healing him at a faster rate than it was before. Another thing is that his inner coils are producing chakra at a much higher rate than any of us. I've never done a thorough scan of him." She said, more to herself than anyone else. "When we get back to Konoha, I would like to run some tests on him."

"If anything, I think we can delay our mission about an hour or so." Kakashi stated. "Let's head back." He hefted Naruto onto his back.

"Eh…Sakura…" Kakashi started.

"What is it?" Sakura asked looking back at him.

"Let's not tell Naruto that I carried him like this…okay?" he smiled. Sakura suddenly looked a little paler than usual. _She probably remembered when Gai had to carry me after our fight with Hidan. Oh man that was so humiliating. _

"Somehow, I think that he wouldn't want to know." She smiled. And with that, they leapt off into the trees.

-----------------

"You know, I really like this place." Naruto stated as he leaned over the windowsill looking out of Tsunade's office. "It's a wonder why I never snapped and went psycho on everyone." Tsunade just looked out of the window from her seat. She turned and looked back at everyone in the room, Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Lee, and Yamato.

"So, feel like telling us what you did out there? I'm sure eager to know." Tsunade stated.

"Ah, I figured out what it is. There's no winter. It's always spring and there's no snow here. All that cold…miserable…" he smiled as the sun beat down on his face.

"Naruto…" Tsunade warned.

"Hm?" he looked back "Oh yea, how I took down Number Five. I didn't really kill her; I kinda put her in a temporary coma…I think. I still don't really understand what really happened. I've been having these, sort of dream-like sequences playing in my head ever since I was poisoned. Kyuubi somehow thinks it may be related to some sort of DNA crossover with Number Two's special poison." Naruto shrugged, "When two high-level shinobi fight, there's a lot of killing intent put out into the space around them. There's not much difference between that and when two Jinchuuriki fight. The only difference is that chakra is also emitted. It is also used to shield the body from certain outside influences. To us humans, it would feel vile and disgusting, almost forming a shell around our bodies." Naruto hopped up onto the windowsill and turned around to look at them.

"When I fight, I constantly flood the area with my chakra. It is what I call the 'Second Stage' to ultimate Jinchuuriki fighting. The first step is to gain control over your demon's chakra, the second being to flood the area with said chakra, and the third, being able to use that chakra to control your surroundings." He looked at Kakashi, "Why do you think your jutsu dissipated before even touching Him all those years ago?" Kakashi looked down to his feet.

"Anyways," Naruto continued, "apparently, Number Five has reached the second stage, and it took me a while to get my chakra inside her. Once she drank some of my blood, it allowed me to bypass her chakra shield and use my chakra to influence the electrical signals in her brain, causing her to shut down; at least that what I think I did."

"How do you know all of this Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, I said I had been having these dream-like sequences playing out in my head earlier. It turns out they are memories; Number Two's memories. He's got a Doujutsu that allows him to manipulate brainwaves, and I think I may have gained some of that power as well. I still don't understand most of it, but I'm going to continue working on that. I know that he is adept enough with it, that he can suppress any Doujutsu with just a thought."

"Hmm..." Tsunade hummed, "so where does this put us?" she asked to nobody.

"That puts us in a very good place." Kakashi stated "We have two Jinchuuriki residing within our walls, as well as, if what Naruto said is true, a new bloodline forming. With Ame and Kusa forming a centralized government, as well as Iwa attempting an alliance with them, we would be hard pressed for the fight ahead."

"Fight ahead?" Naruto questioned, "Is there something I should know?"

"Naruto" Tsunade started, "You've been out of it for about a week now. A lot has happened. It seems that ninja have been captured in Sunagakure in an assassination attempt on the Kazekage's life. Under interrogation it has been deduced that they originally came from Iwa. There has been an open declaration of war, and since we are their allies, we are obligated to help."

"While the perpetrators were being pursued, Suna's ninja were ambushed by Grass nin. Since we are still very low on manpower in comparison to our allies, we will be organizing a retaliatory strike on Grass."

"You're mission will be to infiltrate deep within Kusa and capture several key members of their government. They won't be shinobi, but their bodyguards will be. Since they aren't ninja, they will be very valuable in extracting information."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Sakura said

"Listen to me," she addressed all present "this is no longer an easy situation. This is war. The Rules of Engagement have changed; no longer are you to avoid casualties, if you are in immediate danger, or your cover is in immediate danger, use all force necessary. People will die, hopefully is just isn't one of you."

"Great, time to put some of my techniques to some good, practical use." Naruto stated as he stretched his arms above head.

"No Naruto, you are going to stay here and train. Jiraiya left me a scroll in case something happened to him. He's got some pretty good ideas."

"Hmmm…" Naruto pouted but then brightened a little, "Maybe I'll get to train with Yatsumi-san. I've never had an opponent where I have had to go all out. We'll probably have to take our spars way out into the forests to prevent any civilian casualties…" Naruto mused.

"Naruto, you're training will be special, and very secret. I may trust you, but I certainly don't trust her. With this war looming, I wouldn't be surprised if there were enemy agents already within our walls, which is also why I am going to be tightening security around here." She added as a side note. "You will be training with Kakashi and Yamato. What you'll be doing, even I won't know."

"From now on, "Tsunade stated in a commanding tone "all information that has been spoken inside this room must stay within these walls. If anyone were to find out about Naruto's new abilities, foreign or domestic, it would spell trouble. We shall also be upping our training schedules, as well as graduating our academy class early, getting them practical lessons, and drafting our civilian military. Alright, everyone out who is not Kakashi, Sakura, or Naruto."

After the others left and Hinata gave Naruto a reassuring smile. When the door shut, Tsunade looked at the two standing in front of her, and then to the one sitting in the window to her right.

"This war is going to be a messy business. I'm going to need all the leadership that I can get. Therefore, from now on Team Seven will be permanently dismantled," she said, much to the shock of her listeners, "as will the entire Rookie Nine. This is war, and in this instance I am granted emergency powers; therefore, I will be giving you two a field-promotion."

"Field-promotion?" Sakura echoed.

"Yes, don't worry, it's in the book." She said tapping a book lying on her desk. "Sakura, I've trained you well, now it is time for you to pass on that knowledge. You've had many successful missions, tough ones. I believe you have proven your courage and ability to think under fire."

"Thank you Tsunade-sama!" Sakura exclaimed, beaming.

"However…" Tsunade began, causing Sakura to look at her questioningly, "There is one thing you must swear to me right now. You must give up this foolish quest to save Sasuke." Sakura's eyes widened and she gasped.

"H-How, can you s-say that?" Sakura asked looking at the other two for some kind of support. Naruto looked at her, intrigued at what her response was going to be. Kakashi just looked off to the side, ashamed at having been beaten to the subject. "How can you expect me to give up on Sasuke-kun like that? There's no way; even as a Konoha shinobi how can you expect me to abandon one of my comrades?"

"Sakura, he's no longer our comrade" Naruto deadpanned. "He knew what he was doing the second he pushed his hand through my chest. You need to realize that he threw us away for that foolish dream of his; no, his _ambition_." he sneered at the last word.

"Very well…" Sakura said very quietly "I'll stop looking for Sasuke. But if I happen to come across him, I'm going to try to convince him to come back."

"He will kill you." Naruto said.

"Then I will die trying to bring him back."

Naruto just stared at her for a second before shrugging and getting up to stoop in the window. He looked at the Hokage, "Is there anything else?"

"You won't be taking any team Naruto. You're far more valuable training. It would be a waste of your time and ours if you took on anyone else. That and I still don't quite know all of your skills."

"Well, maybe in battle I can show some to you."

"Hm." Tsunade grunted, looking out of the window. _In battle indeed; I hope we don't lose too many people in this war._

--

Naruto sat in his favorite stool at Ichiraku's, eating his favorite type of ramen. "So, how's life with you guys?" he asked the stand owner.

"Mah, can't complain. I can only hope that with this war and all, people will still want to eat ramen."

"Heh." Naruto chuckled "How can anyone not want ramen. I mean, it's got protein…eggs…wheat…and loads of carbs. Everything a growing boy needs."

"That's true." The man answered.

"So, I hear you're a big-shot Jounin now, Naruto." sounded a voice from behind him.

"Iruka-sensei…man, am I sure glad to see you. I'm not sure what I should do. I don't know if I should stay here. My old _friends,_" he growled at the word, "they'll come looking for me again. What should I do if they attack me here?"

Iruka just smiled and clapped Naruto on the back "Naruto, give thanks for the fact that you have so many friends here. Don't worry, we'll all give our lives for you, just as I'm sure you would do the same for us. That what we have that they don't, love and friendship."

"Yea, friends…I have…friends…" Naruto said with a half smile. "And I would die for any one of them."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." replied the Chuunin teacher as he went back to his ramen with a loving smile on his face.

Naruto looked towards his father's face on the mountain. _Watch me; I will make you proud to call me Son._

**YAY all done! Thanks for everyone's support. Now, time for credits!**

Special thanks to: **Masashi Kishimoto**, for creating this wonderful

anime for me to base my story on

**Celeris: **For sticking with me from almost the beginning

and Beta-reading for me.

All those who prodded me along and help with ideas and such

(Even if they didn't realize it):

SymbolicOne

FatalImpulse

RHunter42Dragon

spudrow20005

And everyone else who reviewed…

--

: Think of making a gun with each hand, and then situating them so your pointer fingers are pointing up and down, with your thumbs pointing left and right. Then put them together to form a little box with the thumbs touching the opposing hands' 1st knuckle.

: The **occipital lobe** is the visual processing center of the mammalian brain containing most of the anatomical region of the visual cortex. I used it in its connection to the eyes.

**Translations:**

Sanban

- Third.

Shinjutsu: Kaikishoku - Holy Art: Total Eclipse

Daigo - Fifth (it literally means 'rank5', but I'm nut sure whether to say this or godaime I think godaime is 5th Hokage)


End file.
